DALLAS TOWNSHIP – Managers of a personal care home in Luzerne County’s Back Mountain said it is expected to take contractors a week to clean up, after a water pipe burst in subfreezing temperatures.
More than 40 residents at Meadows Manor Personal Care Home were forced out into the cold, after a pipe connected to a fire sprinkler burst early this morning, inside a third-floor hallway ceiling
The Stormtracker 16 team said the temperature was hovering around 0° when the building was evacuated, and residents in pajamas and blankets were taken to the neighboring nursing center by ambulance and minibus.
Maryanne Bell said she came to check on her father-in-law, after hearing that dozens of displaced residents were being moved into his building.
“Oh my god, not good,” said Bell. “It’s too cold, especially for the elderly to be out in this kind of weather.”
Warren Mekeel said he felt bad for his fellow residents, who had to go out into the cold with little warning.
"It’s cold. This is the first day I walked. I`m meeting my buddy over here for lunch,” said Mekeel
Dallas Township Code Enforcement Officer Carl Alber said this case is similar to a water pipe break last January, when 59 residents were forced out from a nearby nursing home.
"A lot of water on the rugs and stuff like that. The ceiling blocks, insulation is wet,” said Alber. When it’s really cold like this, that`s what you have to watch out for. It’s happening all over the area.”
Officials with Meadows Manor said five displaced residents are staying with family members, the rest are sleeping on cots or staying in vacant rooms in the nursing center until repairs at the personal care home are completed.