Penn Hills Apartment Building Tenants Forced To Evacuate Over Mold Problem
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PENN HILLS (KDKA) -- Tenants of a senior living community in Penn Hills are being forced from their homes on very short notice because of a mold problem.
Thelma Regan, 86, lives in Beechtree Commons, a subsidized senior living community on Leechburg Road. She learned on Monday afternoon she had to move out of her apartment no later than Tuesday because of the mold issue.
"I can't come back to my apartment for a month or two, maybe three months. I don't know how long. What am I supposed to do?" Regan told KDKA-TV News.
At least two other Beechtree Commons residents were notified Monday that they also have to relocate, at least temporarily.
A number of other tenants at the two-building, 100-unit complex have been forced to move because of the mold, which can cause health problems, like allergies and lung infections.
Temporarily, tenants are being put up in area motels, or other apartments.
Beth Regan, Thelma's daughter, said, "They don't let anybody know; they let them know at the last minute. I feel if there's mold in the building, they should take everybody out, redo it all and make it healthy for the people that are here."
Last November, a Beechtree Commons resident was diagnosed with a case of Legionnaires' disease. Tests by the Allegheny County Health Department determined that the water system in the senior community complex was not the source of the Legionella bacteria.
Now, a mold issue is the worry, and the concern is real, especially for tenants like Deborah Mazzei, who got the bad news on Monday that she, too, has to be temporarily relocated.
"All night long, my nose is running, I get headaches, my chest is hurting, it's horrible," Mazzei said. "I walked in from the grocery store, and the [manager] tells me you have to go, we got the notice from the mold guy, and you have to leave today."
