T E JEWISH NEWTS
THIS ISSUE 60c
SERVING DETROIT'S JEWISH COMMUNITY
FEBRUARY 13, 1987 / 14 SHEVAT 5747
Team Effort Evacuated
78 Patients At Prentis Manor
Staff and rescue workers turned a near-tragedy on Sunday into an
adventure for 91 Jewish Home For Aged residents
ALAN HITSKY
high winds were affecting the outside
power line and electrical service in
the facility. When it fell, electricity
Two evacuation plans, fire de- from the line arced through the
partment and ambulance crews, the ground to break the gas pipe.
Jewish Home For the Aged staff and
The falling line also started a
sympathetic security guards com- small fire in the service area of the
bined last Sunday to make an adven- Prentis basement at the north end of
ture instead of a tragedy out of a the building. When firemen turned
dangerous gas leak at the Prentis off the sprinklers that put out the
Manor.
fire, they heard and smelled the es-
The Lahser-Civic Center Drive caping gas.
facility of the Jewish Home For Aged
"We opened windows where we
was threatened by a major gas leak, could, broke others, and brought in
caused by a broken power line which fans," said Southfield fire Lt. Marcel
fell and hit the building at approx- Charette, who headed the operation
imately 7:30 a.m.
at Prentis Manor. Electrical and gas
The Southfield Fire Department utility repair crews were delayed in
had been at the facility for 30 min- getting to the home because of the
utes waiting for utility crews follow- weather and other emergency calls.
ing reports from the Prentis staff that Fire fighters dug down to the gas line
News Editor
in an effort to allow the gas to dissi-
pate outside the building, but it con-
tinued to seep into the basement.
When Consumers Power crews
arrived, Lt. Charette said, they had
trouble finding the outside shutoff for
the gas line under the snow, and they
recommended the evacuation.
Firemen and Prentis staff had
already moved the facility's 91 resi-
dents to the south end of the building,
and Lt. Charette had received ap-
proval from Lahser Hills nursing
home to move Prentis residents
there. A second choice was the head-
quarters fire station across from
Southfield High School. But in an ef-
fort to keep the residents closer to
their own building, he received per
mission from security personnel at
-
Michael Pelavin
SEEKING
CONSENSUS
5
Continued on Page 14
CLOSE-UP
David Hartman
THE
PASSIONATE
PHILOSOPHER
36
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