Tigard apt residents: Management no help when pipes burst
TIGARD, Ore. (KOIN) -- A week after residents were forced to evacuate The Fields Apartments in Tigard, tenants who spoke with KOIN 6 New said communication from the management has been few and far between.
"No communication whatsoever," said resident Betsy Logan. "That has been the absolute worst part."
Residents said the building began to flood around 2 p.m. January 15.
“Fire sprinkler pipes broke in the apartment right above me and I go, ‘Oh my gosh,'" said resident Marie Bunn. "So, we took a risk and came back in, and sure enough there was water just flooding out my door into the hallway.”
Another resident, Alla Dancu, said they "saw the water coming in the bathroom from the ceiling. And then the water was just kind of flooding, you know, in both of these rooms and me and my daughter, my 15-year-old, were trying to raise things and save things and trying to get ahold of management. But there was no answers.”
Evacuation wasn't easy. Residents told KOIN 6 News only one of the 3 buildings impacted had cleared sidewalks. A tenant who declined to go on-camera told KOIN 6 News she paid for the sidewalk cleaning herself the day before after management refused.
“They said it wasn't a top concern safety-wise," Logan said.
For the past week, tenants said, fire alarms, fans and dehumidifiers could be heard nearly non-stop.
“We’ve got people here that are disabled, that have wheelchairs, and they're struggling to get outside and having to do it constantly, multiple days in a row," resident Michael Doublin said. "Just for the fire department to show up and say, ‘Well, we can't contact the property. They're not calling us back. We called the emergency. We're gonna check it out. make sure everything's OK.’ They turn off the alarms and say, ‘You guys gonna be back inside.’ And the next day it happens again.”
But communication from management was sparse until now. Dancu said they heard from management Monday -- "a week later. We had standing water. We didn't know what to do. It was getting late."
The Fields Apartments is an affordable housing complex primarily home to survivors, seniors and single parents, like Dancu.
She said she and her 4 kids stayed the night in a hotel last Monday but came back after management said the apartment was livable.
But they found the bedrooms still damp and damaged.
“Since then I've been staying with my children in the living room, with the mattresses on the living room floor," she told KOIN 6 News.
Residents said management began walking through some units this day and offered tenants like Bunn a hotel room for the week. As a senior on a fixed income with health concerns, she said she feels stranded and concerned how much of the damage she'll have to clean on her own.
“I provide care for my granddaughter who's 6 years old while my daughter works. And I don't want to bring her here and have her be exposed for long periods of time while I'm going through stuff that's been sitting in mold and mildew," she said. :Not only that, but I don't want to be here myself if I don't have to.”
KOIN 6 News reached out multiple times to the management of The Field Apartments for comment but have not yet heard back.