Sprinkler mishap displaces Redstone senior home residents

Several residents at the Redstone Highlands senior community in North Huntingdon were greeted by firefighters and paramedics last week after a fire sprinkler was accidentally damaged and sprayed water into a second-floor apartment.

One of our maintenance men was painting a vacant apartment and broke a sprinkler head when he hit it with the roller he was using, said Linda Dickson, the facility's director of marketing and sales.

The incident occurred at about 7:30 a.m. on March 30.

The fire sprinkler system is set to automatically alert emergency personnel when it is activated, Dickson said.

They arrived amazingly fast literally in minutes and were able to stop the flow of water from the sprinkler, she said.

As a precaution, emergency personnel helped evacuate about 20 residents who live in area near the apartment where the sprinkler was damaged. After firefighters checked the building to make sure it was safe to occupy, most of the residents were allowed to return.

Although the flow of water was brief, it damaged the unit being painted, as well as four first-floor units below, Dickson said. Residents in the four damaged apartments that were occupied have been moved temporarily to empty units in the four-story complex, which has 95 senior apartments and 40 personal-care units.

The emergency workers and our employees were able to move their furniture and belongings to some empty apartments we have, she said. We're hoping to be able to get people back in their apartments within a week or two.

Most of the damage was isolated to ceilings and carpeting, said Dickson, adding that a restoration company was called in to handle cleanup and repairs. The four displaced residents are expected to be able to return to their apartments within the next two weeks, Dickson said.

Although the incident has created a minor inconvenience for some residents, Dickson said, the staff is viewing it in a positive light.

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Sprinkler mishap displaces Redstone senior home residents