Tenants of 25 apartments return home after water leak

WILMERDING, Pa. — Dozens of people who were left homeless when a water leak damaged the electrical system of a 25-unit apartment building near Pittsburgh Sunday were allowed to return Wednesday, but many were not pleased with what they found inside their units.

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Sunday morning's leak caused the power to be shut off in the Commerce Street building in Wilmerding.

Tenant Denise Rivers said the sound of the leaking water made her think it was raining outside when she woke up Sunday.

Instead, River got up and found it "raining" in her living room.

Wilmerding Fire Marshal Al Hussey said water got into the electrical system, creating more reason for concern.

Shawna Goode, a resident, said she was sleeping when the pipe broke.

“A big boom. It was like a big loud noise, like something blew up,” said Goode. “Scared to death. Didn’t know what happened.”

Channel 11 News learned that the building has had past problems, some dating back at least five years ago.

Documents held at the Wilmerding Borough building showed that the landlord was not following instructions even before the flooding.

Inspection papers revealed violations from January that include false alarms, raw sewage in the basement and high-piled storage.

Before the building was able to reopen, the landlord was required to hire a certified plumber and electrician and then give the borough their certification and insurance certificates.

Hussey confirmed Wednesday that the plumbing problems had all been repaired.

“The property manage stepped up to the plate and was able to get the service master in and take care of all the issues through mitigation process and get humidity levels down to where they need to be,” he said.

Despite the repairs, some tenants told Channel 11 that they just don't feel comfortable calling the building home.

“It's like they're forcing us to live here because we don't have any other place to go,” said tenant Amber Lindsey. “I really do want my money back.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

WPXI