LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Dosker Manor residents experienced a power outage due to a sprinkler burst early Saturday morning.
A spokesperson for The Louisville Metro Housing Authority said around midnight, a power outage occurred in the C building of Dosker Manor due to a burst sprinkler resulting in flooding.
The electrical system had to be shut down.
According to the news release, crews have been on the scene since the outage and expect power to be restored on Sunday. Louisville Metro Government agencies are collaborating with the housing authority to ensure residents have food and water during the outage.
"We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and want our residents to know we are working around the clock to resolve the issue. We are committed to finding long-term solutions for Dosker Manor, including relocating residents to better housing as quickly as possible. This weekend's situation highlights the urgency and importance of these plans."
This is the second week in a row that C building residents were left without power. On July 26, about 170 residents experienced the outage that lasted almost an entire day.
"This place is no good place to live in," said Judy Cecil, a Dosker Manor resident.
Cecil can't take the stairs, so when the power goes out at Dosker Manor, she's stuck on the 17th floor of building C.
"I don't know if that elevator is going to work or not," she said.
Residents and advocates are calling for reform and move outs as soon as possible.
"They need to be moved ASAP out of these living conditions," said Black Lives Matter Louisville organizer Chanelle Helm.
Dosker Manor is public housing that has stood for over 50 years, and residents have long complained about the building's standards.
The Housing Authority said Metro Government agencies will be providing food and water to affected residents.
"What I had in my refrigerator and freezer, I threw all of that out," Cecil said.
Another Dosker Manor resident who asked to remain anonymous said all three buildings have severe problems.
"We have bedbugs, we have roaches, we have mold, we have hissing cockroaches, we have the water pipes that bust every other day, if not every day," the resident said. "We don't have a choice but live here because it's all we can afford."
In a statement, a Louisville Metro Housing Authority spokesperson said:
"We are committed to finding long-term solutions for Dosker Manor, including relocating residents to better housing as quickly as possible. This weekend's situation highlights the urgency and importance of these plans."
However, Helm said despite residents speaking up, Metro Housing isn't listening.
"These people are not silent whatsoever; these people are very much ignored," Helm said. "Every day, they have complaints, they have issues, and they are naming that. If they could move themselves, they would."
Helm is calling for a haste move out process, and said there should be priority for disabled and elderly residents.
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