Homes flooded, condemned after roofing company damages water line

ORLANDO - Roofers hit a sprinkler line and flooded townhomes in Baldwin Park, leaving people homeless right before the holidays.

Kevin Wall’s home was one of the four that Code Enforcement condemned.

"Christmas is canceled for me," said Wall.

Wall is spending the days leading up to the holidays salvaging what he can from his flooded home.

"It was zero to 100 in about 3 minutes," he recalled. "It’s surreal. You always see the people on TV, and here we are."

He says water poured out everywhere, spilling from the air vents and light fixtures and streaming down the walls. His wife says she saw water rushing down her neighbor’s stairs and pouring out of the basement. The City of Orlando told FOX 35 News water flooded into the homes when roofers pierced a fire sprinkler line. As it turns out, the neighborhood had fought to keep that company out even before this catastrophe.

"It's just awful," said Mike Lynch, who lives down the road.  "Just utterly flabbergasted."

An attorney representing Mike Lynch and some of the other neighbors sent the Baldwin Park HOA a letter stating the HOA Board did not do their due diligence to find a competitive bid, choosing the Fort Lauderdale-based Advanced Roofing despite that company charging more than others. The attorney demanded that work be put on hold, but it moved forward anyway. Now, people are forced from their homes.

Wall says he has one thing on the agenda this Christmas: 

"Try to figure out what we do and where we live."

The City of Orlando says the roofing company is "responding and mitigating the situation."

Advanced Roofing and the Baldwin Park HOA haven’t responded to FOX35’s requests for comment.

Another homeowner FOX35 interviewed says the HOA and the construction company didn’t tell her about the flooding; she found out from a neighbor. In an email from the General Liability Insurance Adjuster for Advanced Roofing that was sent to the residents whose homes were damaged, the company says Advanced Roofing is not yet accepting liability.

"Further investigation into the claims is necessary before any action can be taken," the email states. The email refers to the flooding as a "serious water issue" and admits a sprinkler pipe "was damaged" but doesn’t say how. 

Other than the condemned signs on people’s doors, there have also been flyers posted around for a petition. That’s going around from neighbors who want to nix next year’s budget. The new budget would raise HOA costs and would pass the costs of roofing repairs down to the homeowners.

Since other companies offered to do the roof work at a lower rate, the neighbors want to cancel their current contract and switch to a different company. The community also hopes to vote for new board members in August.