Overheating Boilers Cause Minor Damage at Timbers of Shorewood

About 40 residents were displaced from their apartments overnight at the Timbers of Shorewood retirement community, 1100 N. River Road, on Tuesday.

Timbers Executive Director Faith Ann Varga said the residents were given the option of going to a hotel or to another Timbers community after a boiler heated so much it caused beams underneath the floor to begin smoldering early Tuesday night. Instead, residents opted to stay put, and were taken to Timbers’ dining room, Varga said.

The boiler was shut down, but two hours later, a second boiler overheated, again causing smoke in a mechanical room, Varga said. The Troy Fire Protection District responded to the incident, which temporarily closed down a section of River Road Tuesday night.

Varga said the Timbers will replace both boilers, and is repairing structural damage caused by the incident.

Building inspectors were at the Timbers on Wednesday, and Varga said all residents are expected to be back in their apartments by Wednesday night.

“It’s hard being uprooted out of your apartment, even for a short time,” she said. “Our main concern is the safety and security of our residents.”

The incident affected only one of four wings at the retirement community, Varga said.