Firefighters injured, apartments evacuated as storm blows through Ann Arbor

Posted on Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 11:09 p.m.

Firefighters injured, apartments evacuated as storm blows through Ann Arbor

By Cindy Heflin

Flooding at Park Place Apartments along Pauline Boulevard in Ann Arbor.

Photo courtesy of Ainsley Schlinghoff

Flooding forced the evacuation of an apartment complex along Pauline Boulevard, and several people had to be rescued from cars as streets flooded with up to 4 feet of water in the aftermath of heavy thunderstorms that swept through Ann Arbor on Thursday.

Downed wires spark in the area of Pauline Boulevard and Seventh Street in Ann Arbor Thursday night.

Hassan Hodges | AnnArbor.com

Two firefighters also suffered electrical injuries fighting a fire that started when an electrical wire fell onto a garage.

The storm was part of a large system that produced a tornado, which touched down in the Dexter area, causing heavy damage.

People evacuated from the apartment complex were being housed at a shelter set up by the Washtenaw County Red Cross and the Salvation Army, said Jenni Hawes, public affairs coordinator with the Washtenaw-Lenawee Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Firefighters had responded to several calls for rescues from cars around the city as streets flooded after the storm, Battalion Chief Robert Vogel said. He didn’t have an exact number. “A bunch,” he said.

Most calls for assistance were on Potter, Snyder, Main and Seventh streets, he said. He said the cars stalled on flooded streets and then began filling with water. He estimated water was about 4 feet deep.

Flooding in The Uplands neighborhood off of Scio Church Road in southwest Ann Arbor.

Courtesy of Meghan P. Armstrong

The fire started about 6 p.m. when high winds brought down a power line onto the metal roof of the garage, Vogel said. The blaze was small when firefighters arrived but quickly grew. Eventually the power went out, and firefighters moved in to fight it, but the building had become charged, Vogel said, and two men suffered electrical shock.

Both men were taken to the University of Michigan Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Vogel said.

Firefighters were able to control the fire but the building was destroyed, Vogel said. No damage estimate was immediately available.

Firefighters were on the scene for about two hours, Vogel said. A few other wires had also come down around the city, he said.

Hawes said anyone affected by the flooding may come to the shelter at 100 Arbana Drive. The Red Cross is also operating a shelter at Mill Creek Middle School, 7305 Dexter Ann Arbor Road, for victims of the tornado that touched down in the Dexter area.

The Red Cross is providing food, water and health and mental health services at the shelter, Hawes said. Anyone who needs assistance can call the Red Cross at 734-971-5300.

Comments

YpsiVeteran

Sat, Mar 17, 2012 : 3:19 p.m.

I'm so grateful no one lost their life in this storm, and that the injured firefighters will be ok. In the end, it's all that's important. The community should be proud of the way it has responded, and continues to respond, to the situation.

Philip Santini

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 6:18 p.m.

I am so sorry to hear about the dog. How sad. I measured 2" of rain in 50 minutes and a storm total of 3" here on Potter. Accompanied by dime-sized hail.

Mike

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 4:17 p.m.

Why does this require we hire more firefighters and police? How many tornadoes have hit Ann Arbor in the last 30 years? We can't just have them sitting around waiting for the next disaster. There will be times that our emergency systems will be overwhelmed like Katrina for example, the World Trade center as another example. That's when we pull together as a community and as a country and help each other out. There's not always going to be someone their to help us out. When did this country become less self sufficient and think that the government can save us from everything and help us no matter what the circumstance? It's not possible, yet it seems like some people seem to think it is. This was a tradgedy in Dexter and we all need to do what we can to help, even if it means volunteering to watch over areas for the police and help them out. It doean't mean we should go out and hire ten more police officers or firefighters just in case anothe tornado hits next week....

Hunterjim

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 7:31 p.m.

Mike, The question is whether or not the city can respond to events like yesterday on the same level as when all 6 fire stations were still open, when staffing levels were double what they are today. What reserve units were able to respond such as a full recall of off duty fire and police. Ann Arbor has cut staffing to the point that it meets the minimum requirements for a normal day, and have NO reserve for the major incidents that do occur. No we can not predict if it will be next year, next week or tomorrow, when the next serious incident occurs. The folks who run the city have been entrusted with the duty to ensure that they have not only a plan but the manpower to address such events. They have neither. Come on AA.com this is a chance to ask serious questions about public safety in Ann Arbor.

Fat Bill

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 3:40 p.m.

1 inch of rain on 1 acre of ground is 27,154 gallons. What do you expect to see when a storm stalls over the same area and drops almost 5 inches of rain in an hour or less? You can't fight gravity, and you can't fight fluid dynamics. These spots that flooded are all in little valleys and low spots; the storm system couldn't keep up with that much water. I'll bet most similarly situated cities would have the same problem.

Denny Lynn

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 3:12 p.m.

I was on my way to the downtown library to take shelter when the sirens went off. There was a woman with a small dog standing outside in tears because the security staff at the library would NOT let her enter thebuilding with her dog. Is this reasonable? The library should reevaluate their policy for emergencies like this.

YpsiVeteran

Sat, Mar 17, 2012 : 3:12 p.m.

That's a sad situation. When considering the reasonableness of the library's position, bit might be helpful to consider that many, many people -- it seems way more than ever before -- can experience pretty severe allergic reactions to dogs and cats, including sudden onset of asthma symptoms. If there were a large number of people using the library as shelter, perhaps there was concern about introducing an animal into the situation. I don't know if it's applicable to that situation, but it's just a thought.

Amanda Zee

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 3:24 p.m.

That is completely unreasonable. Shame on the downtown library for that!

jns131

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 2:59 p.m.

On the way home on I 94 there was a lot of flooding and hydro planing. Fun drive home. Glad to see the sun today. Enjoy the 70's folks.

George

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 2:14 p.m.

My significant other had a ground level apartment at Park Place. She wasn't home when the storm hit, but her dog was in the apartment and she didnt make it. I got there before any emergency response staff to try to get her out, but it was too late. Thankfully it sounds like everyone else is okay. Can't help but to think someone might have gotten to her sooner if the property management or someone else would have knocked on the door sooner and heard her crying. Glad to hear mostly everyone else is okay.

George

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 2:08 p.m.

My significant other had an apartment at Park Place. She wasnt home when the storm hit, but her apartment flooded and her dog didnt make it. Thankfully it sounds like everyone else is okay. I made it to the apartment to try to get her out well before any emergency response staff was there, but it was too late. Can't help but to think that if the property management or anyone else knocked on the door a little sooner they would have heard her crying and might have gotten her out.

Susan Montgomery

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 7:01 p.m.

So sorry about the dog....

David Cahill

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 1:41 p.m.

There was also flooding in the Kingsley/First area, plus Main and Depot. Yes, a map showing the flooding would be much appreciated!

Ash

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 1:37 p.m.

Something is broken. When I try to post, it give me an error message that I have submitted an abuse report against it. It does not show my posts. Please check. Thanks. I was just clicking "post my comment" I don't see any abuse button, so not sure what's broken.

Susan Montgomery

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 7 p.m.

Yup, I've had the same message with a comment for another article. It doesn't show the article when I'm still logged on, but it does show it when I log off. I think it's removed from my login because it has the message set as having offended me and are trying to help me by shielding me from it, but it shouldn't have flagged it as offensive in the first place.

Homeland Conspiracy

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 1:33 p.m.

Well how much rain did we get?

jns131

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 2:58 p.m.

I think it was posted on channel 4 last nite as about less then 5 inches. Even though we had all that flooding. Go figure. Plan to watch noon news today.

JRW

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 1:28 p.m.

Something that needs to be reported: why did this kind of severe flooding occur (4 feet of water) in a city on certain streets? Why did the flooding happen is this area (Pauline Blvd)? Other parts of A2 didn't experience this level of flooding, so why this area? Is there a problem with the storm sewers in that area?

Chuck Warpehoski

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 1:34 p.m.

On my street, the cause of the flooding was that the storm sewer grates clogged. Once someone waded in to clear the blockage, the flooding stopped.

4Bells

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 11:59 a.m.

Mayor? City Council? Past, ill-advised, "tough decisions" have their consequences. Inadequate city resources, injuries, damage, confusion, endangered citizens, no police or fire chiefs. The blame & responsibility rests with you . . .

Carole

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 10:40 a.m.

Kudos to AAFD and AAPD -- you certainly had your hands full. This was one of our worse storms. Hope both injured AAFD folks are a-okay. Mayor and council, please will you now bring to proper staffing both the AAFD and AAPD.

a2grateful

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 10:40 a.m.

Maybe a savvy investigative journalist could inquire about last night's AAFD's heavily smoking fire engine. So much smoke bellowed from the fire engine's side that it obscured the sidewalks as it passed through westside a2 neighborhoods. The truck's engine was misfiring badly, to the extent that it was practically undrivable. The truck had so little power it could barely make it up small hills. This was a large truck, too, not one of the smaller Suburbans. Was this one of AAFD's "good" firetrucks? What was the response time for this truck?

yourdad

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 3:02 p.m.

Well, it wasn't one of the 2 NEW ones that have been parked for a long time. Maybe we could find out what the plan is for them.

a2cents

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 3 p.m.

My p/up didn't act very healthy after an encounter with curb-to-curb flooding either.... nothing to do with vehicle condition.

anarboran

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 10:25 a.m.

[repost because i accidentally flagged the original as offensive] First, my sympathies to all the folks hit by the storm. And sincere thanks to all the emergency responders. Now, Grace Bible Church wants to add a Mega-Dorm (the Grove), truly outsized new development just upstream of the Park Place Apartments? C'mon city officials, don't let the church's greed win while the folks downstream pay for it. Even a reasonably sized development will have impacts. An extreme development is not necessary for the church or a developer to profit.

Susan Montgomery

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 6:58 p.m.

Regarding [...] I had the same problem with a post in another article, it told me I had flagged my own post as offensive, so I resent it and then i had two posts showing up... Something seems to be off with the new system...

anarboran

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 10:22 a.m.

First, my sympathies to all the folks hit by the storm. And sincere thanks to all the emergency responders. Now, Grace Bible Church wants to add a Mega-Dorm (the Grove), truly outsized new development just upstream of the Park Place Apartments? C'mon city officials, don't let the church's greed win while the folks downstream pay for it. Even a reasonably sized development will have impacts. An extreme development is not necessary for the church or a developer to profit.

Merry Prince

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 9:36 a.m.

The police and fire departments had their hands full, I'm sure. This was an emergency situation where it became clear that we could have used more police and firefighters to close off streets where there were dangers, etc. - http://www.newusanews.com/

15crown00

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 5:40 a.m.

so city council Public Safety or Art for funds?

Razor

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 1:08 p.m.

@pgagreg.......IF you want to complain about the retirements of public safety officials, why not complain about Roger Fraser and his retirement?? He only worked 9 yrs for the city and retired with full retirement and life time healthcare coverage all paid for by the great citizens of Ann Arbor.

pgagreg

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 9:14 a.m.

city council also continues to keep the golf courses open which are both budgeted to lose over $100,000 are year just for the 15% of taxpayers that golf. and it is not only the $200,000 this year it is the legacy costs of adding more people to the lucrative retirement program the city offers. Did you know with 5 years of employment at the city you can retire with health insurance for life. Wonder what that is costing taxpayers?

pgagreg

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 9:13 a.m.

15crown00

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 5:38 a.m.

Time to reallocate funds City Hall.put the bucks in public safety where they belong.Art can have bake sales etc. to fund itself.

retiree80

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 5:20 a.m.

Sadly we will see more injuries for the public and safety provider. This is the new City of Ann Arbor - not enough dispatchers, police officers, fire fighters perform the most basic jobs effectively. Let' s hope that City Hall wises up before somebody dies due to their poor decision making.

Mike

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 4:17 p.m.

Joe_Citizen

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 4:54 a.m.

I have lived close to Park Place my whole life and never saw it flood this bad/ It probably has something to do with the new road they had just replaced. I hope everyone is alright.

jns131

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 2:56 p.m.

I knew someone who lived there years ago. I too agree with you. Never saw anything like that either.

Ash

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 4:17 a.m.

I'm glad you are reporting these events. However it would help to have a map to see which areas were affected by them, for example, the flooding on Main. Main downtown or near Briarwood etc. I'm sorry the firefighters were injured. I hope we reinstate more of them. The police and fire departments had their hands full, I'm sure. This was an emergency situation where it became clear that we could have used more police and firefighters to close off streets where there were dangers, etc.

Kai Petainen

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 3:26 a.m.

Question -- with all the events today.... were there enough firemen for the job?

gofigure

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 12:09 p.m.

I agree with Basic Bob and Craig.....It wouldn't matter how many firefighters on duty. There still would have been the need for more. Disasters/natural or otherwise don't give you a warning and allow you to up the roster that time period. Also, let's not forget the Police Officers, EMT's and any other service personal out in the storm also. They're all hero's in my book.

Craig Lounsbury

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 10:39 a.m.

I'm all for more firemen, but its not a fair question under the circumstance of (now) yesterday. I'm all for more firemen, again, but the measuring stick can't be natural disasters like that. It just can't.

Basic Bob

Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 10:35 a.m.

How many would it take to prevent a tornado touching down?