‘The ceiling started collapsing’: Residents of Lewiston apartment building reeling after storm forces them out of homes

LEWISTON — A flash flood Tuesday night not only dashed tenants’ barbecue plans at 37 Union St., but also left 10 families unhoused when the city condemned the apartment building.

“We were all chilling in the hallway doing the same thing we were outside, hanging out, and all of a sudden it sounded like someone turned a shower on full blast upstairs,” said Gavin Dennison.

More than a dozen tenants had moved their group dinner inside when the rain started.

“We go upstairs and it’s just pouring, coming down so quick and the stairs started overflowing immediately,” Dennison said. “Then the ceiling started collapsing.”

C.J. Harvey, back, visits Thursday afternoon with the last two residents of 37 Union St. in Lewiston that have not found a place to live after their apartment was condemned following Tuesday’s storm. He was urging them to stay positive and encouraged them to clean up their surroundings. Both Sandy Lessard, left, and Doris Harvey have pets they are caring for as well. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Caleb Eads said he and his brother, who rented a unit in the building, also heard the sound.

“We were on the third floor and it sounded like a busted water pipe. We opened the backdoor and it was just coming down,” Eads said.

His brother called the property manager.

When fire crews arrived at the scene, they deemed the building uninhabitable, tenants told the Sun Journal.

Dennison said property management told the tenants to grab their belongings and leave the building.

Brandy Tolman said tenants were thankful for relief provided by the American Red Cross, including cards with money on them, but said it doesn’t go very far.

“They gave us a little bit of help, but what no one realizes is that not all of us have cars and the nearest available rooms are in Freeport,” Tolman said.

“We don’t have access to anything right now unless we want to travel. We have one vehicle here,” Tolman said, pointing to a pickup truck, “and one other vehicle.”

She said all of the displaced tenants spent Wednesday night camped in tents in the yard behind the building.

By Thursday, some of the tenants had relocated, but others remained in limbo.

“Fortunately, I found a place today that I can move to. Other people are still kind of scrambling,” Tolman said.

She said there was still one couple and a single woman camped out behind the building that have no place to go.

C.J. Harvey, left, talks Thursday afternoon with the last two residents of 37 Union St. in Lewiston that have not found a place to live after their apartment was condemned following Tuesday’s storm. He was urging them to stay positive and encouraged them to clean up their surroundings. Both Sandy Lessard, right, and Doris Harvey have pets they are caring for as well. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

“No options to go anywhere,” she said, adding the 10-unit building’s property managers hadn’t assisted in those efforts. A few of the tenants went to hotels and others found family members to stay with.

Tolman said she had hoped to retrieve the damage deposit she put down on her apartment.

The city condemned the building on Wednesday because there was no electrical service at the site, said David Hediger, director of code and planning for the city.

“It is unfit for habitation and folks should not be in that structure at this point until the condemnation is removed,” he said.

Early in June, the city received a complaint about a bathroom leak in one of the units that had since been resolved, he said.

The Fire Department had conducted a number inspections at the building in the spring, Hediger said. Those issues had been resolved by May, he said.

“So, as of Tuesday night, when this whole event occurred, from the city’s perspective — certainly from planning and code enforcement and, from my understanding, the fire department as well — there were no known violations at that time,” Hediger said.

“Due to the flooding from the water damage (on Tuesday) impacting the electrical system, we had the electricity shut off, the meter removed and the gas shut off. So, if you don’t have electricity, your building’s not habitable,” he said.

A condemned notice is affixed Wednesday to the front door of the apartment building at 37 Union St. after a storm Tuesday damaged the building and electricity was shut off. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

The Fire Department responded to a call after 3 inches of rain poured down on Tuesday, causing the flooding. Fire officials alerted the electrical inspector, which led to a determination made by Hediger’s office to condemn the building, he said.

Hediger said an appraiser from the property’s insurer has been to the site to assess the damage.

“They hope to get it fixed, but I don’t know when or how,” he said of the owners.

If and when the electrical service has been repaired and restored to city standards, Hediger said the property will have to be inspected in order for authorities to remove the building’s condemnation status.

A phone call to the listed owner of the property Thursday was not returned.