PORTLAND, Oregon — Residents in a 50-unit apartment building in East Portland have been without a home for a week after their complex flooded. It happened just days after a snow storm hit the area.
The property manager of The Daveneaux on North Couch Street told tenants the building is a near total loss and they have to move because the building won't be livable for the next four to five months. Willamette Week reported that management thinks a burst pipe in the building's fire suppression system caused the flooding, but that hasn't been confirmed.
Yellow Brouillet and their partner lived at the apartment building, which is managed by Anchor NW Property Group. Last Monday, Brouillet heard the fire alarm go off and saw water dripping everywhere, from the ceiling to the lights and the fans.
"By the time I get up there, I think it's ankle deep on myself and the best I can do is try to save our stuff," Brouillet said. "I'm emptying buckets to put it under the water, I have my brook and I'm sweeping water off our deck."
They said they were let back into the building on Thursday and begun the process of salvaging what they could from their apartment on Sunday. Brouillet said a lot of their furniture was ruined and their clothes were so drenched in water that they fell off the hangers.
The management group, which owns 32 buildings throughout Portland, sent an email to residents offering to expedite the move-in process to one of the other properties in their portfolio.
“I mean that’s all you can do is look for another place. You can’t depend on staying in a hotel forever because insurance money is going to run out eventually and you are left with nothing," Brouillet said.
Brouillet added that finding a new home will be challenging because their partner uses a wheelchair, and Daveneaux Apartments was the most affordable that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"We’re people and we don’t have a home anymore, and we might not have a home for a while or a place that we can be secure in," Brouillet said.
KGW reached out to Anchor NW Property Group and has not heard back yet.