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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A consultant removed 1,701 water-damaged boxes of records and thick docket books from Luzerne County&#8217;s leased record storage building following an Aug. 24 leak, county Administrative Services Division Head David Parsnik said Thursday.</p><p>Water had rained onto records kept on three floors of the Thomas C. Thomas warehouse on Union Street in Wilkes-Barre for an unknown length of time until county District Attorney&#8217;s Office workers discovered the problem. Building owner Thomas C. Thomas identified a faulty sprinkler head as the cause of the leak and said the sprinkler system was properly inspected and maintained.</p><p>Michigan-based DFD Document Restoration Services, which was retained by the county to salvage impacted records, provided a department count of the records it has removed, according to Parsnik:</p><p>&#8226; District Attorney: 913</p><p>&#8226; Prothonotary/wills: 423</p><p>&#8226; Probation: 265</p><p>The consultant said it will take 10 to 12 weeks to identify records that can&#8217;t be saved or reproduced.</p><p>District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis stressed the boxes from her office contained paper case files &#8212; not crime scene objects and evidence that are retained by police agencies.</p><p>While Salavantis couldn&#8217;t rule out the possibility, an initial review concluded few, if any, documents were damaged to the degree that they are unreadable, she said.</p><p>The boxes were sturdy and absorbed much of the water, and tarps placed over boxes after the leak was discovered prevented further damage, she said.</p><p>Salavantis said she has a direct contact at DFD to obtain scanned copies of any documents her office needs through email or overnight delivery.</p><p>Her office must keep most files permanently. Salavantis is exploring the cost of scanning all documents to eliminate the need for building storage.</p><p>&#8220;It will depend on the cost,&#8221; she said Thursday.</p><p>DFD uses vacuum freeze-drying and other techniques to prevent the growth of mold, mildew and microbial elements that can make the damaged documents a health hazard, its site says.</p><p>Parsnik expects the matter to end up in a legal challenge.</p><p>The building owner&#8217;s insurance covers damage to the structure but not the contents of those leasing space, he said. The county has insurance for the contents with a $10,000 county deductible.</p><p>Both the county and its insurance carrier will want to recoup the deductible and cost of restoring damaged documents, he said.</p><p>The county has been in the process of moving records out of the leased property into a new county-owned storage facility in Hanover Township. That move, which began in July, stemmed from a state archive expert&#8217;s warnings years ago that the Thomas facility was insufficient for record storage due to temperature extremes, lack of security, leaks and fire hazards.</p><p>In light of the leaks, the removal of remaining county records in the leased Wilkes-Barre property is set to occur sooner and will begin Sept. 5, Parsnik said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Salavantis </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_stefanie1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Salavantis </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Recovery firm: 1,700 boxes, docket books sustained water damage