Condo roof fails to keep out rain, prompting evacuation

Article Courtesy of The Miami Herald

By DIANA MOSKOVITZ

Published Friday, Oct. 13, 2006

Jonathan Berger had just gotten home from work on Thursday when he heard his neighbors in the Quail Run condominium say they had water pouring in.

Berger, 39, rushed to help, gathering everything from buckets to coolers to give them to catch the water. But when he returned to his condo, Berger discovered his own home was filling with water.

''I had to get all my buckets back from the people I gave them to,'' Berger said.

Berger's home was one of 48 in the Sunrise condominium at 2998 Sunrise Lakes Dr. E. that were evacuated after heavy rains led to flooding through most of the four-story buildings.

The water was able to come in because crews making repairs had removed a lot of roofing material, said Battalion Chief Tom de Stefano with the Sunrise Fire Department.

The rain about 5:30 p.m. made its way through the openings and into condos.

''What happened isn't normal,'' de Stefano said.

Power had to be cut off to 48 units, the majority of the five-wing complex, he said. About 22 of those were empty because the owners were snowbirds or on vacation, de Stefano said.

Of the people at the condo, 32 had places to go for the night, he said. Four people were put up in hotels by the Broward County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

No one was hurt, de Stefano said.

Power had to be shut down because water seeped through so much of the building, including electrical conduits, that it would be too dangerous, de Stefano said.

Even without power, the wet floors and soggy ceilings were a danger, he said.

The heaviest damage was along the fourth floor. From there, water trickled through the building, he said.

The water eventually reached Flo Pajer's first-floor unit. There wasn't much water, just some wet floor tiles, she said. But her power was turned off, and Pajer, 74, left to spend the night with her daughter, Susan Crupi.

''This shouldn't have happened,'' Crupi said.

Both Crupi and Berger said roof needed the work because of years of neglect from the previous condo board. Last year's hurricanes made it worse.

Berger grabbed what he could of his clothes, resigning to get the rest today.

''I'd like to be home like everyone else,'' Berger said.

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