Emergency officials evacuated hundreds of residents from the Charter House senior citizen’s high rise in Silver Spring on Thursday after water from a leak in an electrical utility room rose to nearly 8 feet, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue officials said.

Emergency crews responded to the building before 7 a.m. County officials as well as Pepco and Washington Gas employees worked throughout the day to determine the leak’s source but were unable to do so by late afternoon.

It was not clear when residents would be allowed to return.

Residents were sent to Gwendolyn E. Coffield Community Center in nearby Rosemary Hills Park, where the Red Cross was providing food and nursing assistance. The Red Cross was working to find accommodations at hotels and neighboring assisted-living centers for residents with special needs, said spokesman Marcus Rosano.

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Charter House resident Bari Bergman was forced to walk down 13 flights of stairs to evacuate. “All I have now is the clothes on my back,” Bergman said. “I even forgot my teeth.”

Bergman and other residents will be allowed to return to their homes to recover essential belongings, Rosano said.

Examiner photographer Jay Wescott contributed to this story.

– Staff Report