Sep 27, 2018 3 min read

Brothers Sam and Howard Jerolaman and their aunt, Brenda Franklin, had lived in their Fallowfield Township house at 527 Woodward Ave. for 11 years. On Tuesday, they received a notice they had 24 hours to vacate.

“Two days ago, a man came and put a notice on the door,” Howard said. “We never expected that.”

They are some of multiple residents displaced on that road this week after land shifted under their homes, causing structural damage.

“The foundation was slipping off a little bit,” Howard said. “It’s been a long time coming. They said they don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

The two other homes where residents received notice to vacate from the township were at 529 and 533 Woodward Ave. Township Supervisor Bruce Smith said the township code enforcement officer and the township engineer deemed them unsafe for occupancy.

“Because of the land movement, it was causing structural damage to the homes, and the concern was that they would actually collapse,” Smith said. “Our primary concern was the safety of the residents.”

Smith said the properties sit near the border of Fallowfield and North Charleroi, and that both municipalities have engineers “looking to determine the root cause and possible future danger.”

The state Department of Environmental Protection will investigate to see if the land movement could be mine-related, he said. Rainfall also might have contributed to the continuation of movement of a slide that happened “years ago” in that area, he said.

The homes sit on hillside overlooking the Monongahela River.

“They weren’t built on a cliff, but they are old homes,” Smith said. “These properties have been established for ages. Over the course of hundreds of years, the land is probably moving at some point or another, and the more unstable it becomes, the quicker it’s going to move.”

Other residents in the neighborhood are becoming “antsy” about the situation, wondering if their homes are next, Smith said. He said the township doesn’t yet know what will happen to the vacated homes or who will pay for geotechnical studies, demolition or any other possible outcomes.

“We’re not sure what the options are moving forward,” Smith said. “It’s kind of a waiting game.”

Meanwhile, the Jerolaman brothers have spent the past two days trying to move. Howard said their landlord had another Charleroi house for them to rent and got them a U-Haul. Franklin had to be taken to the new house by ambulance because she is on oxygen.

“It’s been rough. She’s been very upset about it,” Howard said of his aunt.

They were supposed to be out of the house Thursday and received help from Washington City Mission. Jason Johnson with the Mission said they took the family food and helped them move. Smith said the other two homes were already vacated.