Displaced Alpha residents returning to apartments

Donetta Hayes, a resident at the Alpha Towers housing complex near downtown Toledo, described her frustration at being barred from the building. The complex, which houses many senior citizens, evacuated its residents on the evening of Monday, Dec. 2, 2013, after a malfunction triggered the fire suppression system throughout the building.

Alpha Towers management said Wednesday it has completed enough repairs to allow more displaced residents back into their apartments, though people living in 63 units still await a go-ahead.

Residents in 45 of those 63 units are temporarily staying with friends or family members.

Eighteen had been temporarily housed Tuesday in a motel, Milton E. Pommeranz, the facility's Toledo attorney, said in a written statement.

The 165-unit, nine-story building was evacuated Monday after problems with its interior sprinkler system caused flooding on the first eight floors.

Residents were being allowed back into their apartments on a case-by-case basis once inspectors deemed each unit habitable. The goal is to have everyone back by Friday, Mr. Pommeranz said.

The Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio paid for Tuesday night's motel accommodations. The Donaldson Group, which manages Alpha Towers, “is paying for the hotel accommodations from this point forward,” Mr. Pommeranz’s statement said.

The American Red Cross set up a shelter in the nearby UAW Local 12 union hall.