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Sunday, January 26, 2014

Flood At River Place Condos-100,000+ Gallons Of Water Destroys 18 Condos

Last Tuesday night, over 100,000 gallons of water flooded the River Place Condominiums in Salisbury. The fire sprinkler pipe burst and the water immediately began to flood 18 of the units as well as the covered parking area. 

The damage was devastating and resulted in a family of a single Mom with three children being put out of their home as well as a young couple who recently relocated to Salisbury. The family's unit has been deemed unlivable and the other couple's condo has been condemned. Both parties were forced to live in a hotel for over a week and have not been advised to what actions to take for insurance guidance. 

The fire department was on scene and many officials have come out to assess some of the damage. Reports of the sprinkler system being shut down, possible closings on some of the floors and excessive mold problems are among some of the issues the tenants are having to live with. 

Apparently this story has not been shared with the media and many are concerned as to why information is not being shared with others. 

The damage was as severe as a raging fire and demolition crews have been on scene in the affected units since January 15th tearing apart all of the inside damage.

To see all of the photos and video of this disaster, GO HERE.













30 comments:

Anonymous said...

These units are total guts. But be sure the insurance companies aren't going to want to pay for that. Water ran into the walls and saturated the insulation and drywall. If it isn't removed and replaced, black mold will develop and then the REAL fun begins.

Anonymous said...

Made up story. If the Mayor never mentioned it then it never happened, right?

Anonymous said...

This is why people were against mandatory fire sprinklers.
Fans are not going to help and I wonder why they are even bothering. That water is in places they do not even see.
How sad for these families.
Welcome to mold city.
If there is mold in one unit, it permeates to all the adjoining units.

Anonymous said...

"This is why people were against mandatory fire sprinklers."

Exactly 10:15! We heard ad nauseum how rare this is. If so rare then how come if you have valuable antiques or artwork, insurance is nearly impossible to get for the items, if the dwelling where they are to be housed has sprinklers?

Anonymous said...

the link for all the pics is not working

Anonymous said...

It will take months for it to be repaired. BUT if it was housing authority, 15 days. Seems like section 8 has priority over everything.

Anonymous said...

I thought these units were practically empty.

Anonymous said...

That's gona be one hell of a water bill.

Anonymous said...

I have a friend who owns one of the units on the second floor. His unit suffered significant damage as well. He said it sounded like a waterfall it was coming in so fast. I told him unless they tear out ALL the drywall and insulation, he's going to end up with a mold problem. He described the repairs being done just like the one photo you posted. Taking out the bottom 3 feet of the drywall. That's NOT going to fix the problem. Somebody from the health department needs to get involved in this!

Anonymous said...

What ever the federal government funds, only those people will get help. Hopefully, the insurance company will pay for damages in full. I doubt that.

Anonymous said...

Just like their mortgages... they are under water.

Horachio....yeah.gif

Anonymous said...

All those people including law makers who voted in favor of mandatory sprinklers need to get over and help these people! All their big talk about how this rarely happens means nothing to these people who are now having to deal with this mess.

Anonymous said...

Not even one comment about the quality of the pipe or its installation to guard against freezing temperatures? If I paid as much as these people did for these overpriced condos, I would expect pipes not to burst in cold weather, period.

Anonymous said...

If the victims of this event haven't received "insurance guidance," they need to call their insurance agent. Duh.

Anonymous said...

Problem is 5:14, we're not dealing with a single family home here. Who should be guiding these people is whomever the management company for the condo association. First matter to be taken care of is who is responsible. Common element then it's the responsibility of the unit of council owners which it most likely is because I've not ever seen condo docs anywhere in the state that makes the unit owner responsible for maintaining the sprinkler systems.

JoeAlbero said...

Have ANY of you wondered why the rest of the local media covered this up? I received an e-mail today from a local influential person saying, why do you always have to be so negative and publish such information. REALLY?

We'll have more on this story tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

What members of the County Council voted for sprinklers? Did Ricky support it too?

Anonymous said...

poorly built and poorly managed. What a mess. Another Salisbury gem.

Anonymous said...

Who was the crew of professionals that did this fine construction work and who was the original sales pitch team who sold this location to Wicomico's finest minds. They had to be brilliant to sell this crap to begin with.

Anonymous said...

For the wise person asking about the insurance, your "duh" question is simple, the structural damage is not going to be covered by homeowners insurance. Who will pay for the loss of the unit, the hotel stay they mentioned, being put out of a home with three children. The other couple having their home condemned? That is not a simple "duh" to answer. Maybe a little sensitivity and common sense?

Anonymous said...

@5:26 PM -

There are two ways to attack the problem. Neither one is a huge ordeal to uncover.

First is the Condo Ass'n insurance. Owners are members, and have access to this info. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to get it. Owners - ask the condo assn manager or look in your meeting minutes. Renters - ask your landlord.

Let's say that's too difficult for some strange reason. If that's the case, claim it under your individual owner's or renter's policy. They'll pay up to the limits of your policy, and subrogate with the condo assn insurance to get the money back. Often they will get your deductible at the same time.
If you have any extra damages beyond the personal insurance limits, go after the condo assn for the difference by filing a claim with them. You'll know who they are right away by asking your own insurance company.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't this built by Harkins? Sounds like they either cheaped out for their own benefit, or the building owner cheaped out. Since Harkins had to take payment in condos, I'm pretty sure we can figure out who was short on cash during construction.

Anonymous said...

It's sounds simple 9:10 but the reality is......is isn't.
I'm currently dealing with someone whose home sustained major damage due to a fire (old faulty wiring) and water.
Insurance did cut an immediate check for living expenses for the family. Fire and water damage company came in and removed carpets and dried the place out. Now it sits.....for a month now.
It's clearly not the homeowner's fault so could it be since the house was newly purchased the fault of the home inspector who missed a very obvious safety hazard? Statements like this are what the homeowner is faced with and I'm learning it's not something they answer in a day or 2 or 3 or 4.....are you getting the message?

Anonymous said...

9:10-Insurance (condo and personal) isn't going to agreed to do much more than pay for living expenses and any work necessary to stop further damage such as mold growth until the liability has been assigned.

Anonymous said...

9:10-The short answer is if this were caused by a freeze, the condo association is responsible. The caveat is- Before anything is done the insurance company is going to make a determination as to whether negligence was involved. Condo association better be ready to show they have a plan in place which includes regular inspection and maintenance of sprinklers.

Anonymous said...

@9:11... Harkins did the concrete and that was it!

Anonymous said...

Tom Monaham, who now is off the hook was the builder/developer with Steve Grant (who has picked up the ball, and liability. Tom is off smiling about now. Unit owners, they won't be back in for a year. Oh, 100,000 gallons, not hardly. The system can't deliver 1000 per minute, did it take 100 minutes, and hour and half to shut off? If so, the SFD needs replacement!

Anonymous said...

2:56...read the article the water was flowing for 45 mins before it was even able to begin to shut down

Anonymous said...

Wow...Just wow...How did the media miss this story? As many times people ride by there a day and they have not reported any of this? Some way, some how this is being ignored...This is just wrong...Keep this at the top of the news so we can follow up

Anonymous said...

Irony? Gary Comegys owns and lives in one of those condos. He was also on the council that voted for everything along the river.