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Busted pipes, flooding force residents out of Detroit apartment
Residents at a Midtown Detroit apartment complex are out of their homes after the building filled with water over the week. Cold temperatures led to busted pipes and a mess that has people begging for help.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Extreme cold over the week busted pipes at a Detroit apartment complex, leaving residents dealing with flooded units and no home.
"It’s horrible. It’s raining in our hallway. It’s just messed up," said one resident at Mildred Smith Apartments.
Residents have been using plastic bins, buckets, and towels in an attempt to handle the mess.
"From the residents, what they told me it started on Christmas Day. They haven’t had any water since Christmas Day," said Reginald Johnson, the city's fire marshal. "It may have been cold. These are all empty apartments so they probably started leaking, just kept on, kept on going."
It’s a big job just tracing the initial source of the massive leak.
"Started on the third floor. Sprinkler heads busted throughout the building. It leaked into the entire area, basically every apartment has been flooded," Johnson said.
Many residents have nowhere to go and are begging for help.
"It’s just crazy. We pay our rent here and you know we don’t bother nobody. It’s an excellent area but in order to keep up something, you have to fix it," a resident said.
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The Fire Marshal’s Office says they are working to connect with the people who run the complex and get the situation under control.
"Next step is just trying to find them a place to go and get the property owners out here to fix the issue. To get this thing back in running shape but like I said, it’s going to take a while," Johnson said.