Maple Pointe residents still out of their homes

As of Thursday morning, residents of the Maple Pointe Assisted Living facility in Rockville Centre were still not back in their homes after a burst pipe early Wednesday morning caused the building to flood and the residents to be evacuated.

The 132 residents were evacuated early Wednesday morning after a pipe burst on the fifth floor of the facility, causing water to flood through the entire building and soaked the floors in all of the common areas, according to Chelsea Senior Living, the parent company that runs Maple Pointe.

Residents were evacuated to the nearby Sandel Senior Center, while others went to stay with family. When it was clear that residents would not be able to return on Wednesday, some were taken to other Chelsea facilities in Plainview and Forest Hills, while others were taken to local hotels for the night.

“Those residents who are staying in nearby hotels will be the first to come home,” said Roger Bernier, president and chief operating officer of Chelsea Senior Living, in a release. “Those who are staying either with their families or at our other residences nearby will be next.”

Power, which was shut off after the pipe burst, has since been restored to the facility. And the furnace has been turned back on, returning heat to the building. The kitchen is operational and the elevator is working. Electricians are checking all of the building’s circuits for safety. Once the building is deemed safe by electricians and local emergency officials, residents will be allowed to return.

While the common areas and hallways were flooded, Maple Pointe said that no resident apartments were flooded. The cause of the pipe burst is still unknown.