About 100 people were evacuated from an assisted living facility in Pasadena after a power outage in the building and a fire in a residential unit that led to extensive flooding, officials said Wednesday.
Pasadena Fire Department personnel responded around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday to 235 E. Holly St. Crews found sprinklers activated in about a dozen units in the facility, according to Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin.
The facility’s residents — many who are low income and have physical challenges — were evacuated, and the Salvation Army and the Los Angeles County Emergency Management Department were contacted.
“Our crews were able to quickly turn off the water flow to the sprinklers,” city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said in a statement Wednesday. “Unfortunately, the residual water in the sprinkler system continued to flow for nearly an hour. This caused significant water damage to units on the fourth floor, third floor, and a couple units on the second floor.
“In addition to the water damage, power was out to the entire building,” according to Derderian. “(Pasadena Water and Power) responded and determined that power was coming to the building, so it was not a city issue. City officials developed a plan to evacuate and house up to 100 residents due to water damage and not knowing extent or timing of the power outage. Pasadena police were instrumental in assisting with evacuations and maintaining order throughout the incident.
Derderian said an arson investigator responded to assist in the investigation.
“As more information was gathered it was learned that power went out to the building prior to the sprinkler activation. Approximately 10 minutes later, the sprinklers were activated because a fire had occurred in a residence on the fourth floor,” she said.
The power was restored shortly before 11:30 p.m., Derderian said. Information on the cause of the fire was not immediately available.
The Red Cross was able to assist with temporary housing needs for around 20 residents, and the unit impacted by fire was red-tagged, Derderian said.
“The building manager was tasked (with) finding a commercial cleanup company for the water damage,” she added. “Today, fire, building officials and health inspectors will meet to determine the next steps.”