Heavy rains on Tuesday morning caused the apartments at a senior facility at 838 W. Knoll Drive in West Hollywood to flood for a second time this year. More than 150 residents were evacuated from 135 units, along with several dogs and cats and one bird.
Firefighters evacuated occupants of the senior facility to the West Hollywood Community Center after their building flooded on Tuesday, Sept. 15. (photo by Jessie Lingenfelter)
Firefighters and paramedics were called to the apartment building at 4:15 a.m. in response to reports of flooding. Upon arriving, they found water coming through the roof, and through light and electrical fixtures on the second and third floors. Southern California Edison deemed the apartment complex hazardous at 6 a.m., and evacuated all occupants.
Los Angeles County firefighter Humberto Agurcia said six occupants were transported to the hospital for various injuries and complaints. The remaining tenants were transported by metro bus to the West Hollywood Community Center, and it is undetermined how long they will remain in the evacuation center. The pets were transported to a nearby shelter where they will stay for up to two weeks. All occupants were evacuated by 10:50 a.m.
Los Angeles County Fire Department Battalion 1 Chief Arthur Ellis said the building had extensive damage inside.
“It was hectic when we arrived, people didn’t know what was going on and were frustrated by the fact that they had to leave their homes. We were able to gather everyone with the help of Red Cross, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, City of West Hollywood and [Southern California Edison],” Ellis said.
The roof of the three-story building, owned by Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles, was under repair from previous flooding in July and was covered by a plastic tarp. The flooding in July was due to unrelated construction on the roof, where solar panels were being installed, which was also covered by a plastic tarp.
Violet Hill, a resident in the facility, was out of town for the flooding in July, but woke up early on Tuesday to find the building was leaking.
“We just moved back in on Sept. 4, and everyone was so excited,” Hill said. “I have lived here for nine years and have never had a problem before this July.”
Ellis said he expects the Los Angeles County Department of Building and Safety will make an assessment of the property within the next few days.
2 Comments
The distress expressed by the sick and elderly residents about the extreme difficulty in being relocated can not be overestimated.
From mobility in general, to the change/loss of regular access to heath care providers, drug stores and regular shopping needs.
Isolation is a constant growing problem with aging. Being elderly or severely disabled magnifies this problem.
Unlike people living lives without physical limits can not understand the isolation is not just about mental & emotional problems.
But with this kind of isolation, there is usually nobody these displaced can turn to to even ask for a lift to the doctor or store AND there is nobody to assist them with the physical demands of moving all their belongings, unpacking and then doing it all over again when relocated back after the repairs are done.
West Hollywood City Hall has a nearly non-stop public dialogue message about the City’s mandatory need to build NEW LOW INCOME HOUSING UNITS.
The sentiment and motives are nothing but the misuse by the City of STATE REDEVELOPMENT FUNDS – IN THE TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS which goes to the profits of the wealthy developers building the BIG BOX HOUSING BLOCKS on almost every corner.
The STATE only allows this over zoning size projects in exchange for the DEVELOPERS building new low income units.
RATHER, the CITY of WeHo is paying for or finding ways to make small property owners in WeHo to foot the bill for low income units that are apart of the Redevelopment Agency’s deal to allow the oversized building you can’t help seeing go up all over.
MEANWHILE the actual housing needs of low income qualified existing residents of WeHo is nothing but an annoyance to WeHo City Hall.
The building was not maintained properly and there is no big urgency to help those elderly and disabled being displaced have the assistance and ongoing needs until moved back home.
Come on – the rain this week was so heavy, I was kvetching for days. But really, for us, drizzle causes frayed nerves, but any building can and should easily deal with the relative small amount of rain that fell (compared to pretty much the rest of the US & world, where a bit of heavy rain does not take down a buildings roof.
What is still in Place for the Residents of West Knoll Apartments,
Or as the old saying says, The Road to Hell is Paved by Good Intentions
Lack of information depletes one’s ability of decision-making.
By and large, the state of affairs is not entangled when we know who, how and when.
Speaking to the tenants of West Knoll Apartments, I became able to reinstate the course of devastating decisions and corollary of them implications.
But what is much more important to know, it was not the chain of incompetent and irresponsible decisions that took morally and financially detrimental toll on the residents as well as on the Housing Authority.
On the surface for many, all responsibilities lie with the construction companies. Technically speaking, these were the contractors, as well as inspectors who did not rise to their responsibilities. Workers worked hard and did what they were told to do.
It is not fair and not correct to blame them and to make them a scapegoats. For it is not them, who initiated the solar panels project and not them who pursued it no matter what.
I believe, I am somewhat closer to the core of this sinister project. It is sinister and hypocritical because per se it is a progressive one. Being a progressive does not make it plausible and reliable for any building, especially for the building where elderly of poor health reside.
The West Knoll Apartments were made a subject of experimentation. Was it someone ambitions, like that of Chairman of the Tenant Council or incompetence of other, we shall learn later.
It is astounding that,
There was no professional substantiation with regard to the Solar Panels, there was no public discussion about possible side effects. Ultimately, the works commenced lacking accountability for the corollary circumstances. I am not sure if there were certifications, inspections and proper supervision.
What makes the story tragic is the fact (hard to believe) that during the course of the first repairs inside the building, the Roof was not completed and left covered temporarily with tart in the anticipation of the resuming of the solar panels project. On the scale was people’s welfare and safety on the one side and ambitious pushing for irrelevant under the circumstances project.
The second took precedence and the Solar Panels Project remained active.
And what make the situation absolutely dismal, is the assertion on the part of promoters that the Solar Panels Project is unavoidable.
If this project continues it will prolong the current state of disarray for extended period of time together with all possible negative effects on the people.
This is obviously not a concern for the promoter or promoters for this malicious in the current situation project.
I was astonished when I found out that Chairman of Tenant Council, Guenter, is an ardent promoter of the Solar Panels installation. He still regards that the Project shall go on, no matter what.
What a pity that such a ambitious and careless person allegedly represents the tenants.
Immediate reconciliation and complete withdrawal of the Solar Panels Project is the task of the day.
Save the residents, save the building.
Dr. Vladimir Melamed
Director of Archive, Library and Collections
Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust