Another Washington Apartment Building Evacuated
WASHINGTON (KDKA) -- Another building was evacuated Wednesday in Washington County, just a week after a building collapse trapped a woman for more than nine hours.
The building is owned by the same person who owned the collapsed building.
The apartment complex at 350 Duncan Avenue, owned by Mark and Melissa Russo, was deemed unfit for human habitation early Wednesday morning.
A notice was posted to the front door. It cites several problems in the building, including falling ceiling tiles, holes in the wall, a malfunctioning toilet, no heat or hot water, mold and electrical issues, among other things.
A legal source tells KDKA that 13 residents were forced to evacuate and are now displaced. The Red Cross is helping some of those residents. Family members and neighbors are helping others.
"The police were there. They went into my apartment and asked me to leave, and they looked all around... and they announced the place was a dangerous place to live and we couldn't live there anymore," said Romaine Carroll, one of the evacuated residents.
Another property in Washington deemed "unfit for human inhabitation." Same owner as building that partially collapsed trapping woman inside pic.twitter.com/iLnBRNCokM
— KDKA Kym Gable (@Kymgable) July 19, 2017
The Russos also own the apartment building at 15 N. Main Street, which partially collapsed last week.
Megan Angelone, 38, became trapped by a refrigerator in the falling debris. She suffered severe injuries and has had to have multiple surgeries to repair the damage.
Angelone's fiance, Nate Engott, talked to KDKA's Kym Gable on Wednesday night.
"We're looking for help. Time goes on. People forget. She's in the hospital, struggling every day. It's hard for me to see her like that because she's such an amazing woman. She's extremely strong," said Engott. "How she made it through that nine-and-a-half-hours, I don't know. I don't know. I just know there's one person who got us through that, and that's the Lord above. "
Sources tell KDKA's Kym Gable that officials are going to start taking a closer look at other questionable properties throughout the town and start cracking down on the owners with stiffer penalties.
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