When fire hit Heritage, management responded promptly to residents’ needs
The fire at The Heritage began at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 2, apparently in a sofa located in a common area in the north side of the third floor hallway. The fire was contained to the third floor hallway and never reached any of the apartments. Information reported in news articles might have given the impression that apartments were damaged. Apartment fire doors and quick action by the fire department limited the damage to the hallway. Not one piece of resident furniture or clothing was damaged.
As president of the Uniontown Property Development Corp. board, I received the call from The Heritage at 5 a.m. and staff from Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, which manages the building, were already there after traveling from Pittsburgh.
By Sunday afternoon, all tenants had been safely relocated, cleanup had begun, agencies and insurance companies contacted and the building secured. These efforts were coordinated by SeniorCare Network even though it is not required by their contract. I was on site all day Sunday and recall being so grateful that we had a management contract with a team of professionals.
One of the factors in our decision to retain Presbyterian SeniorCare in 2000 was their presence in Fayette County with the management of Mount Macrina and their spiritual devotion to a continuum of care to senior citizens.
SeniorCare staff and I met with tenants at Mt. Macrina on Sunday to assure them that their apartments were secure and safe and they suffered no damage. We made lists of personal items and clothing that each tenant wanted and went to The Heritage to get them. Management staff and I were at the site every day and visited the tenants at Mount Macrina every day.
We also met with insurance adjusters, Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency staff (mortgagor), Restoration Services personnel, fire department personnel, the fire marshal and family members.
SeniorCare staff remained on duty to accompany family members to retrieve personnel belongings from the apartments and to coordinate relocation efforts.
Our goal that first day was to have the building secured, restored and tenants returned to their apartments within days. We called an emergency meeting of the UPDC board. The board readily released funds to assist tenants with their move and cleaning because it felt it was their moral obligation, and the board authorized Presbyterian SeniorCare Network to proceed with all post fire procedures.
Unfortunately, we did not receive a final decision on building occupancy until Wednesday. So, tenants had to wait on final moving plans but all were relocated by end of the day on Friday. The moving of furniture was coordinated and paid for and many personal furniture items were cleaned and checked prior to moving them. The cleaning of all apartments with smoke damage is covered by the owner’s insurance.
The board and management staff are finalizing plans for the renovation of the building and will communicate time lines to the tenants as soon as possible. An architect was hired to coordinate the renovation, and construction work will begin as soon as possible.
Much emphasis has been put on the fact that there was not sprinkler system in The Heritage. A sprinkler system was not required by any authorities for an independent senior housing development at the time of construction in 1994.
The Heritage is a structural steel and brick structure built on 36 caissons and is probably the most well-constructed and safest building in this area. Design and review of all systems was conducted by the city of Uniontown, the state Department of Labor and Industry, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and the fire marshal. All occupancy permits were issued at that time.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. We are grateful to Fire Chief Myron Nypaver and the Uniontown Fire Department and Police Chief Kyle Sneddon and the Uniontown Police Department for their actions. We are also grateful to the Red Cross for their disaster services in transporting tenants and assisting them with their stay at Mount Macrina and the Sisters at Mount Macrina Manor who generously opened their doors to the tenants.
Board vice president Tom Harkless of the Fayette County Housing Authority came to the emergency meeting with a list of available apartments for temporary housing and the assurance that tenants with Section 8 certificates would not lose them because of the fire.
Within days, the housing authority managed to prepare 12 units in Marshall Manor and White Swan for emergency housing.
We want to assure everyone that Uniontown Senior Housing Limited Partnership and Presbyterian SeniorCare Network have been and will continue to work to get all tenants back home.
We are grateful to so many but especially grateful that our tenants and their apartments are all safe and secure.
Stephanie King is president of the Uniontown Property Development Corp., a non-profit corporation that through Uniontown Senior Housing Limited Partnership owns The Heritage.