Bush House Hotel residents rehoused
All residents of the Bush House Hotel who requested assistance from Quakertown after being displaced Wednesday have been rehoused, according to a news release from the borough.
Residents were removed from the old rooming house at 200 W. Broad St. in Quakertown after the building was condemned for numerous safety and health violations, including a bed bug infestation, debris, clutter and damage from a 2018 fire that has not been fixed.
Quakertown worked with Bucks County government and non-governmental agencies to provide rehousing and social service assistance to the former residents of the Bush House Hotel. The borough and Bucks County officials also worked to connect vulnerable residents, including the elderly and those with mental illness and drug
abuse disorders, with agencies for assistance and treatment, according to the news release.
As reported by The Morning Call, residents received clean, dry clothes and underwent medical evaluations before they were taken to an evacuation center set up at Quakertown Borough Hall. At the hall,
residents underwent another medical evaluation, got food and water, and met with the county, as well as other governmental and non-profit agencies, about their housing options.
The borough is continuing to work with displaced residents regarding any personal effects that were left behind and that may be contaminated. Displaced residents who left behind necessities, such as medicines or vital documents, are being allowed immediate access to their former rooms. The borough has arranged for former residents who are seeking to recover other possessions to enter the building at designated times after those items have been treated to prevent pest infestations elsewhere.
The building will stay condemned and without residents until the owner makes it habitable again, officials have said.
The borough had received numerous complaints from residents, the public and first responders about the building, which prompted an inspection. The hotel was found in violation of several codes, and officials deemed it unfit for human occupancy. According to the release, the insect infestation was so bad, the bugs occasionally tripped fire alarms in the building