POULSBO — July 11 brought an unwelcome first to the Poulsbo Sons of Norway as parts of its lodge were damaged by a broken water line.

The Sons moved into the building on Front Street in 1973 and until Tuesday had never had any major maintenance issues, lodge secretary Stan Overby said.

Crews from the Poulsbo Fire Department responded to an alert from the lodge’s monitored system at 2:47 a.m. and did an initial investigation before entering the building, said PFD community relations specialist Jody Matson.

“They went in and were able to locate the leak and stop the leak, which was coming from the second floor onto the first floor,” Matson said, noting that the flooding was caused by a broken pipe on an ice machine.

Many of the light fixtures in the Viking Room were filled with water and it appeared to be raining from the leak in the Marine Room, which is on the second floor, she said.

“Some places were covered up to inch in water and crews used tarps and garbage cans to catch the water,” Matson said.

Crews were careful in removing the antique furniture and other items from the affected area and stopped the leak before it reached the lodge’s display case, she said.

“Fortunately they had a monitored system, because it could have been a lot worse,” Matson said.

By Thursday morning, workers from Servicemaster Cleaning Solutions had returned to the lodge to continue the cleanup and drying process.

“They’re going to be finishing the demolition of the Viking Room today,” said Sons administrator Adele Heinrich, adding that the carpets will be removed.

Both affected areas have been sealed, and fans and other drying equipment have been running nonstop to dry up the water. But the process could take three weeks, Heinrich said.

However, even with the Viking Room unavailable, there hasn’t been a major impact on lodge activities, she said.

“We had our Kaffe Stua yesterday and we’ve still got a wedding scheduled for this weekend,” she said. “We’re just having to move things around a little.”

The lodge’s building insurance will cover the repair costs, but in the interim, Heinrich said plans are to keep business as usual.

While Grieg Hall is being repaired, the Poulsbo-North Kitsap Rotary Club is searching for a meeting place for at least the next three weeks, said Rotary President Brad Camp on Thursday morning.

The club traditionally meets at 7 a.m. every Friday in the Viking Room for its weekly meetings.

“It gives us a great opportunity to explore other places to meet and we’d like to find some place for the next three weeks,” Camp said.

The club is meeting at the Clearwater Resort Hotel this Friday, but ultimately plans to return to the lodge, he said.

“The Sons have been good partners and friends of Rotary and we will return,” Camp said.