40 evacuated residents and staff return to Salem senior home after heat restored

About 40 residents and staff members evacuated from a Salem senior home Tuesday were able to return to the facility just after midnight Wednesday after firefighters were able to set up temporary heating sources in the building.

Fire crews from Slickville and Forbes Road were called shortly before 8 p.m. to the facility for a report of a carbon monoxide alarm in the building located in the vicinity of Sandra Drive.

“It was discovered that flue pipes on one of the three heaters that provide heat to the building from the basement was rotted out, leaking and set off the alarm,” said Forbes Road Chief Robert Rosatti.

The gas company subsequently “red tagged the heater until they were able to determine what exactly was the cause of the alarm, he said.

The residents and staff were temporarily moved to the Delmont fire social hall for warmth for about four hours until firefighters were able to set up temporary heating sources in a wing of Ark Manor and return them to the facility, according to firefighters.

One furnace was expected to be repaired by mid-afternoon Wednesday and two other furnaces in the basement were expected to be replaced sometime Thursday, according to Rosatti.

The evacuated residents sitting in the parking lot with blankets and coats were loaded into Mutual Aid and Westmoreland County Transit Authority vehicles and driven to the fire hall in Delmont.

Ark Manor officials were not available to comment Wednesday.