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False fire alarms, limited help with excessive flooding leave residents at The Vue frustrated

Posted at 5:19 PM, Jan 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-08 17:19:12-05

People living in Beachwood’s The Vue apartment complex say they’re being left to fend for themselves after burst pipes flooded their apartments. 

Fire alarms echoing through the halls at The Vue used to make Phillip Williams jump out of bed and figure out what was wrong. 

He says after a handful of fire alarms in the past few weeks, “everybody is extremely upset, completely desensitized to the fact that the alarm goes off.”

The Beachwood Fire Department says cold weather and strong winds are whistling through the building’s walls, freezing the sprinkler lines and causing the pipes to break. This causes flooding, and when the sprinkler system starts running, the fire alarm goes off.

“It’s happening all throughout northeast Ohio," said Beachwood Assistant Fire chief Shaun Lutz. “It’s because of the weather and the cold we’ve been having.”

Still, it’s wrecking havoc for people who live near the broken pipes, forcing them to scramble to save their belongings.

Four residents have consistently complained to News 5 about how management is reacting to the situation - or rather how they aren't reacting.

“Management’s current course of action is to simply say, ‘Hey we’re sorry. Our insurance company will go ahead and get the fitness center built as quickly as possible,” said Williams. 

A letter sent to residents Sunday from Stark Enterprises and Comet Management acknowledges what it calls and “unprecedented number of alarms,” and promised to fix the problems. 

One resident we spoke to is moving to a different unit because of flood damage in their apartment. That person says the best The Vue will do is give them an empty unit, but won’t do anything to help with the move or help get a hotel room. So far, it also hasn’t offered any break on future rent. 

We’ve been asking The Vue and their management company Comet Management about what they’re doing to help residents and make this right. They released the following statement Monday afternoon:

"Over the past week, extreme and changing weather conditions have contributed to a number of incidents with several service lines. Property ownership and management is committed to resolving these issues for the long term by any means necessary. We are working swiftly and diligently with restoration experts to maintain the integrity of the building and identify and resolve each issue, while simultaneously coordinating with our residents to accommodate those who are temporarily displaced during the repairs. We are committed to responding to all resident's inquiries once these immediate (priority) objectives are met. The safety and wellbeing of our residents is always our top concern and we appreciate their patience and cooperation during this process."