Residents evacuate flooded apartment complex; broken water pipe to blame

Lake Pointe Apartments residents evacuate the building Thursday afternoon, Jan. 15, due to a flood on the ground floor caused by a broken water pipe. No injuries were reported.

By Allison Scarbrough. OCP Editor.

HART — A broken water pipe at the recently-constructed Lake Pointe Apartments Thursday afternoon, Jan. 15, flooded the ground floor and caused approximately 30 residents to evacuate the building.

No one was injured, said Hart Fire Chief Ken Klotz. “But it’s a big mess,” he said.

Residents, many of whom are elderly, were being escorted out of the building by Hart police officers. Firefighters had the water shut off shortly after being dispatched to the scene at about 12:30 p.m. due to an alarm activation. They were working on getting the power shut off as well. It was not immediately known if the broken pipe was caused by freezing.

Klotz said an upstairs resident heard a loud “boom.”

An Oceana County Council on Aging bus was on scene to transport residents to other lodgings for the night. Klotz said he called Oceana County Emergency Management Coordinator Tom Osborn to assist the residents in seeking alternative accommodations.

Overlooking Hart Lake, the construction of Lake Pointe Apartments was completed last summer. It is a 25-unit complex for seniors 55 and over.