The Donald E. Smith Apartments in Tupper Lake flooded on Dec. 26, 2022 after a joint in the sprinkler system cracked, spilling water into around 35 of the 50 apartments in the building. Forty-eight residents were displaced by the flood, and a multitude of community organizations helped them in the following days. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

TUPPER LAKE — After a sprinkler line break in the Donald E. Smith Apartments on Wawbeek Avenue on Dec. 26 flooded apartments and displaced 48 residents, some residents have now started moved back in. Work on reconstructing the recently-renovated units damaged by the water has begun and building managers say the rest of the tenants will continue to move back in as construction allows.

Tenants in apartments not damaged by the flood began moving back in on Jan. 3, according to Church Street NY LLC spokesperson Jeanne Dillon, who works with the building owners.

Building Manager Debbie Reil said on Tuesday that 25 residents were back in their units. These units were in various states of renovation at the time. She said 16 of the building’s 50 apartments — the ones furthest from the break — were not damaged in the flood.

Reil said a number of tenants on the third floor used their own towels and blankets to barricade the water, successfully keeping it from spreading to the farther wings of the building, sparing these 16 units from damage.

Reil said this “helped considerably” to keep the damage from growing.

“They absolutely should be credited with fast response,” she said. “They were absolutely amazing. They saved that section of the building.”

She said donations of towels have been greatly appreciated, since residents lost nearly all of theirs.

Every other unit were damaged to some extent — some mildly, others severely.

“As appropriate from a safety standpoint, (management) will allow additional tenants to return on a piecemeal basis,” Dillon wrote in an email. “This is a very unfortunate situation and ownership is committed to minimize the stress and inconvenience of all tenants.”

In the evacuation, some residents got out with “just the clothes on their backs,” Tupper Lake Emergency Manager Carl Steffan said. And for many, those clothes were wet. A large and ongoing community response has given those displaced residents lodging, food, clothing and comfort.

Reil said on Tuesday there were still three residents staying at motels in town and the rest of the displaced residents were staying with family or friends. She said the company that owns the building is paying for the motel rooms.

“Ownership will continue to provide housing and support services to DE Smith tenants throughout this process,” Dillon wrote.

The building is owned by Ogden Realty and managed by Conifer Realty.

Immediately after the flooding, almost a dozen residents were staying at the Tupper Lake Adult Center, where they slept on cots and were fed by volunteers cooking and bringing them donated meals. They’ve all since left the center and found other housing, Reil said.

Reil said the building owners are working to get the three residents in motel rooms back first, possibly by the beginning of next week.

The third floor was less damaged than second floor.

–

Quick action all around

–

Reil said maintenance manager Jon Depuy had just left the building before the break happened, around noon on Monday. He was heading to Saranac Lake and lost phone connection. As soon as he regained it, she said he turned right around and rushed back to shut off the water.

“Fortunately, ownership had just completed a multi-million dollar renovation, so crews are available to begin the renovation process within a few days in order to minimize tenant dislocation and inconvenience,” Dillon wrote.

ETC Companies, a contracting company from New Jersey, had been rehabilitating the apartment building inside and out since June — adding new cabinets, windows and carpeting and redoing the roof, parking lot and sidewalk.

Reil said the renovation at Don Smith’s was “90%” done and ETC crews had moved on to the Greenwood Apartments building in Lake Placid, which is also owned by the Carbone family and managed by Conifer Real Estate. They were right nearby, which allowed them to start rebuilding after the disaster so soon because they were still in town.

Reconstruction started on Tuesday morning, Reil said. Work started on the floor, laying down the base and then new tiles, both in apartments and in hallways.

“It’s not to the severity of the renovations,” Reil said. “But it’s a lot of flooring and a lot of sheet rock and ceilings.”

Reil said she’s looking at this as the “second phase of renovation.”

“We’ll have an extremely new building by the time we’re done,” she said.

–

Drying out

–

The disaster response and restoration company ServiceMaster was onsite from Dec. 26 until Jan. 4 to extract the water and dry out of the entire building, Dillon said.

“They got the water dried out of there amazingly well,” Reil said.

After running dehumidifiers up and down the hallways, their moisture readers finally showed zeros, so residents could start moving back in.

A tenant meeting was held on Jan. 5 with the ownership and property management representatives to update tenants on the status of the flood remediation, moisture extraction and other drying measures. Some residents hadn’t been back to the building until that meeting.

Reil said everyone is under “a great deal of stress,” but they’re all “taking it one day at a time.”

“I think they’re handling it much better than I anticipated,” Reil said of the residents. “That doesn’t mean they’re not upset by it. Of course they are, because they’re displaced from their home. But their mindset is they know it’s getting worked on and they know they’re going to get back into their homes as soon as we can.”

She felt there was not as much damage to personal belongings as was initially feared. The water mainly crept in through the walls on the floor, and was not raining down from the ceiling much, so things in the middle of the room were relatively untouched, she said.

Their personal belongings were put under a plastic wrap as flooring was removed. Reil said residents should tell management what they are facing as far as damages go.

–

Break cause still unknown

–

Reil said they are still unsure of what exactly caused the water line break.

James Iannone, an employee with ABJ Fire Protection, said on Dec. 27 that a “T” joint in the sprinkler system in a third floor hallway froze and cracked in half.

Dillon said in a statement that the sprinkler system had just been inspected in early December, “and no issues were noted.”

How exactly that joint froze is still a mystery. One gap in insulation could let in enough cold air to freeze a fitting, Iannone said. Then, when that fitting thaws out, it swells and cracks. The fitting that broke at the apartments cracked cleanly in half right down the “T.”

Riel said the building has new insulation in its roof and the owners are working to make sure a flood like that does not happen again.

Reil said the building has insurance and the owners are working with their insurance adjusters.