Power restored at senior living apartment building in Hamilton Township, N.J., after outage forces evacuation
A senior living apartment building in Mercer County, New Jersey, was evacuated after losing power following an outage during an equipment test, according to Hamilton Township's mayor.
Hamilton Township Mayor Jeff Martin told CBS News Philadelphia that officials evacuated some residents at the Alvin E. Gershen Apartments at 1655 Klockner Rd. One of the buildings was without power.
A PSE&G spokesperson told CBS News Philadelphia that power was restored in the building around 2 p.m.
First responders brought in a portable generator to get one of the elevators working to help get residents out. Some residents walked over to an apartment building next door to cool off in the air conditioning.
Martin said some residents were taken to the hospital for treatment or precautionary reasons.
Chopper 3 captured several ambulances and multiple utility trucks outside the building.
Elaine Hart, a resident at the apartments, said the building has 10 floors with 16 apartments on each floor.
"They went to my mom, and she said no," Hart said. "So, I went to my mom, and I said, 'Oh, yes, you are.' … Electric goes out on occasion, but you do have people on oxygen with walkers, with wheelchairs, and they can't go down the steps."
Hart said her mom is 96 and evacuated. She said her mom has been living in the complex for 20 years.
"She's a trooper," Hart said.
The evacuations come as New Jersey and the Philadelphia region are dealing with record-high temperatures.
"It's hot," Hart said. "It's going really hot."
Edwin Reed waited outside, worried about his friend who was trapped on the upper floor.
"He's stuck on the ninth floor," Reed said. "He can't walk. He's had two strokes and the elevators are down, and he uses a scooter to get around. … "It's a lot of people in there that need their oxygen, need their air conditioning. It's kind of sad to see this, actually."
Firefighters also rescued 67-year-old Andy Petronella, who says he was stuck in his apartment for an hour and a half.
"Could they have waited for a hotter day? It's a nice breeze at least," Petronella said.
Petronella was seen waving from a window. He says he's grateful to have a friend like Reed, who alerted first responders to where he was inside the building.
According to the apartment complex's website, Alvin E. Gershen Apartments offer "affordable housing with modern facilities for senior citizens and young disabled persons."