Penn Manor Apartments residents in East Liberty dealing with flood damage
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Tenants at the Penn Manor Apartments in East Liberty are frustrated due to flooding damage that was sustained over the holiday weekend.
Residents said maintenance came to help Monday afternoon, but claim they have no place to go. Pittsburgh police were informed that power is out, there is no heat and residents were evacuated. There are 55 units in the three-floor apartment building.
"I got into my apartment and there is water everywhere," resident Gerald Webb said. "My neighbors came and told me we got to hurry up and get out."
According to tenants, the problems began on Friday, when the electricity kept going on and off. After that, the fire alarm kept activating, and then the water got cut off on Sunday.
"We woke up this morning to the alarms going off again and there was water everywhere," resident Sylvia Alexander said. "I mean everywhere. Everything in my apartment is ruined. I have nothing. I tried to get as many clothes as I could out, but we need help over here."
Despite the water coming back on Sunday night at around 10:30 p.m., the tenants then told KDKA that when the water was turned on Monday morning, it was malfunctioning once again.
Community Builders, which owns the property, said a burst pipe in an apartment impacted the building's sprinkler system and flooded the place. It is providing emergency housing at a nearby hotel for residents.
Resident Charon Ross rented a Uhaul and grabbed what they could.
"It's crazy. I got to move my stuff the day after Christmas, $400 worth of food gone," Ross said. "Rent a Uhaul, got to get a storage place. Stuck in a hotel for two days."
Repairs are underway at the apartment building. Water removal is expected to continue for two days. It is not clear when residents will return.
One fire chief in the area said calls about burst pipes started coming in over the weekend, and he added it's only going to get worse in the next couple of days when temperatures increase and broken pipes thaw out.