UPDATE AS OF 2 P.M. ON TUESDAY, DEC. 27, 2022

Just before 5 p.m. on Monday evening, Dec. 26, 2022, a sprinkler pipe burst inside a building operated by Catholic Social Services at the corner of Wyoming Avenue and Olive Street in downtown Scranton. The building houses Saint James Manor, a transitional housing facility, as well as Saint Anthony’s Haven, an overnight emergency shelter for those experiencing homelessness.

Scranton firefighters and the Scranton building inspector, along with Catholic Social Services administrative staff, quickly responded to the scene and discovered significant water damage on several floors of the property.

On Tuesday morning, Dec. 27, electrical contractors responded to the scene to assess the damage and professionals from Damage Control immediately began the process of cleaning up the property with the hope of returning to normal operations as quickly as possible. The clean-up efforts remain ongoing at this time. As a result, both Saint James Manor and Saint Anthony’s Shelter will remain closed Tuesday evening as this work continues.

A total of 15 people from Saint James Manor were displaced on Monday evening because of the water damage inside the property. All of those clients have found alternative, temporary places to stay with family or friends or are being provided with accommodations by Catholic Social Services.

With a “Code Blue” still in effect in Lackawanna County Tuesday evening, anyone who is in need of emergency shelter through Saint Anthony’s Haven is being referred to the Keystone Mission shelter at Weston Field House.

The administrative staff of Catholic Social Services is working as quickly as possible to return the residents of Saint James Manor to their apartments and reopen Saint Anthony’s Haven to those needing emergency shelter.

Professionals have indicated that the sprinkler system will take at least 24 hours to fix and as soon as the property can be safely reoccupied, we plan to return to normal operations.

We will continue to update the community and the media in regards to the ongoing restoration and reopening efforts.