Gateway Place residents displaced after pipes burst

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – The residents of Gateway Place Apartments whose ages are between 65 and 90 years old had a rude awakening Wednesday,

Around 2:30 A.M., their building flooded from a pipe that burst.

“It’s basically raining in my mom’s apartment, she calls me she’s like ‘It’s raining! It’s raining! I’m freaking out!,'” said Alisha Fowler, the daughter of a Gateway Place resident.

Most residents shared that same fear.

“A lot of fear cause I don’t have legs to get away from anything,” Gateway Place resident Kim Cooper said. “So, scared, frightened to death.”

The seniors were told to pack as quickly as they could and evacuate. They stayed in the Embassy Suites for the past few nights, but the hotel cannot continue to provide rooms for all the residents over the weekend. The hotel does not have enough room.

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Alone in Huntsville, Cooper worries about her long-term housing while facing health challenges.

“They told us to bring some clothes, but we’ve been here for a long time,” Cooper said. “Now we have no clothes. How do I get back to get more clothes? The building is closed. They’re offering us, saying we can come in. But, how do we get there if we have no one around and no transportation?”

After hours of waiting in the lobby of the Embassy Suites, residents learned Friday afternoon they would be scattered at different hotels across the city for the night.

News 19 observed clean-up crews at the apartment property Friday but has not been told how long residents will be displaced or when they could return home.

“These people are old,” Fowler said. “They need to be taken care of. We’re supposed to take care of the elderly.”

The seniors were given one meal by the Red Cross, but, otherwise, have been left to fend for themselves. Many of them express that they lack the transportation or resources to get their own food.

Residents say the pipes bursting are just another example of ongoing issues with the property with some feeling that their safety and security are in question.

“I’ve come down to go to physical therapy early in the morning and there’s people in there that we don’t know how they get in,” Cooper said.

Now, they have fear for their futures; a lot of questions, but not a lot of answers.

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