PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Imagine being startled by a fire alarm blaring in the middle of the day. Unfortunately, that was the reality for Jacalyn De Tota.
"I'm on the third floor, and the alarms went off. And I didn't open the door right away because I was on the telephone. And then when I opened the door, water rushed right in," she said.
Port Richey said the fire suppression system in the attic of Abigail Court, a 55+ community, burst Thursday afternoon. The city said it dumped up to four inches of water into the complex. The video shows shoes floating down the hallway.
One day later, the windows remained open. Workers carried equipment inside the apartment. And De Tota returned to check out the damage in her apartment.
"I've had a migraine all day. No sleep, a migraine, you know, your mind is always going," she said.
De Tota said there was minimal damage in her apartment. However, some apartments on the first and second floors have substantial damage, including collapsed ceilings.
"I was lucky the third floor didn't get the damage. I saw the other floors. I feel bad for them. I really do. I mean, but they're trying to get everybody in on the other side that wasn't damaged. But I don't know how long it will be before then. I don't want mold to set in. And that's my biggest fear. Because I've had family members have had floods within the mold, so that's scary."
ABC Action News reached out to the apartment complex. An employee said the owner would call, but no call has occurred.
Now resident's questions continue to swirl.
"I talked to my insurance company, and they said (Abigail Court is) liable. They're not going to cover anything (Abigail Court) has to cover it," De Tota said.
Following the flood, Mayor Scott Tremblay says the city and county worked together to bus any senior in need to a nearby hotel.
"The city will do whatever we can to help those folks. From the emergency vehicles that responded very quickly to ensure that the building owners meet codes and standards, and they're safe to move back in," Mayor Tremblay said.
A big question from residents: what about the previous building codes?
"I think this is a property that was privately inspected. So I don't think the city had any involvement in the inspections. It was done by a private company," the mayor responded.
