Hundreds of Lansdale residents were displaced on Wednesday afternoon, after winds from a powerful line of storms blew a portion of the roof off of the Stanbridge Apartments building on Jenkins Avenue.
The incident occurred shortly after noon, as a fast-moving storm—since labeled a “derecho” by local weather authorities—tore through southeastern Pennsylvania, causing widespread damage, power outages and killing at least three people in Montgomery County.
In Lansdale, officials said the storm blew off almost one-third of the roof of the Stanbridge Apartments, the bulk of which landed on top of high-voltage power lines and an unoccupied Jeep Wrangler that was parked in front of the building. No injuries were reported.
Fairmount Fire Company Deputy Chief Gavin Butler said all residents of the 149-unit apartment building had to be evacuated, leaving hundreds of residents currently displaced. In addition to the damage to the roof, Butler added that that the interior of the building suffered a substantial amount of water damage.
“I’m not sure of the extent of the structural damage to the interior, but there was a significant amount of water damage due to the rains after the roof came off,” said Butler.
North Penn School District buses were used to transport some of the residents to a Red Cross staging area at Penndale Middle School, Butler said. And it may be a while until residents are allowed to return to their apartments.
“There are some things that the property owner will have to get repaired, or at least secured,” said Butler. “Then they’ll have to go through code enforcement and the fire marshal before they start letting anyone back in.”
In addition to the Fairmount Fire Company, units from the Lansdale Borough Police Department, Upper Gwynedd Fire Department, Colmar Fire Company, Fire Department of Montgomery Township, North Penn Fire Company, Volunteer Medical Service Corps of Lansdale, North Penn Goodwill, Lansdale Code Enforcement and Lansdale Electric provided assistance at the scene.
Butler added that the Towamencin Fire Company provided coverage to the area as crews worked at the scene.
See also:
Powerful Storms Blow Roof Off Of Stanbridge Apartments In Lansdale
Photos: Powerful Storms Cause Damage Across North Penn Area
Four-Vehicle Crash on Doylestown Pike Sends Three to Hospital
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