BY BRENDA K. FARLOW
In July 2012, a large and prolonged heat wave that caused many severe storms struck Chicago, Illinois. One evening, these two weather factors collided in the Northlake area, causing a widespread and prolonged power outage, which affected the Concord Place Retirement and Assisted Living Community. Concord is a 16-story high-rise that houses approximately 325 residents, each of whom has a private apartment (although there are a few couples) and a different level of mobility. Concord offers services ranging from independent living to assisted living to home health care nursing. The night of the power outage, the overnight temperature was 84°F.
Concord's backup systems include a diesel generator that runs one elevator, the emergency lighting, the fire pump, and the air-conditioning system. That night, the radiator on the diesel generator blew out and could not be repaired after several hours of attempts. Losing the main power and the backup generator meant all elevators were out of service, the fire pump was not working, and the sewer pumps could not work so toilets could not be flushed; sewage began to back up. People began to experience heat-related and sanitary health issues. The Northlake (IL) Fire Protection District was dispatched to the building for a fire alarm activation and on arrival noticed a complete lack of power to the building. Because of the serious safety hazards, the owner was given one hour to repair the generator or begin an evacuation. Evacuation began at 2115 hours.
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