In events like the Springdale high-rise evacuation, coordination is key, officials say

Evacuating a high-rise building full of senior citizens, many of whom are physically handicapped, during a cold January night could spell a recipe for chaos.

But on Tuesday night in Springdale, it wasn’t.

The Springdale Manor high-rise, which houses about 90 residents, was evacuated because of a natural gas leak.

Peoples spokesman Nick Paradise said the company was contacted at 8:01 p.m. Tuesday about an odor of gas reported in the high-rise’s community room and immediately dispatched a technician.

First responders already had turned off the building’s gas during the initial call to Peoples’ operations center. A Peoples technician traced the source to one of the building’s boilers, which had been worked on earlier in the day but not by Peoples, according to Paradise.

The leak was caused by a worn internal gasket on one of the heating boilers, said Paul Reiber, director of facilities management for the Allegheny County Housing Authority. The gasket was replaced and all connections were checked by HVAC mechanics.

Residents were able to return to their apartments just before 10 p.m.

Establishing communication with first responders and officials beforehand, to be ready when incidents happen, is key to successful emergency management, said Bruno Moretti, coordinator for the Allegheny Valley Regional Emergency Management Agency.

“Everybody knowing each other and knowing how each other works is a big part of it,” he said.

Knowing each company’s needs beforehand and having good communication skills with each other is integral to emergency management, Moretti said. In addition to his agency, numerous groups responded to the high-rise incident Tuesday night, including Springdale police, EMS and fire personnel, neighboring volunteer fire companies, Lower Valley Ambulance Service, the county housing authority, American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

“Everyone worked together,” he said.

Moretti said his agency and other first responders have met with the housing authority to pre-plan when incidents occur at the high-rise.

While planning is important, Moretti also noted many decisions are made on the fly at the scene because of how fluid situations can be. That’s where strong communication and relationships between agencies come into play, he said.

Police officers and firefighters evacuated residents who couldn’t walk and helped others to quickly exit the building, Moretti said. Three nearby businesses — Dollar General, Beer & Beyond and Springdale Laundromat — reopened to provide residents with temporary shelter. A heated W.L. Roenigk school bus was available for those who were able to walk.

All residents got out safely. There was enough personnel on the scene to help, Moretti said.

The Springdale Volunteer Fire Department set up a warming tent for residents. The borough office building was being prepped as a warming center, but ultimately wasn’t needed because residents were able to return to the high-rise relatively quickly.

“(First responders) just jumped in,” Moretti said. “There were no ifs, ands or buts about it — they just jumped in and helped.”