ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orange County woman is trying to find a place to stay after an Orlando motel flooded Thursday morning, forcing people out into the heat.
A sprinkler system malfunctioned at the Crestwood Suites Extended Stay motel on University Boulevard in East Orange County, Orange County Fire Rescue said.
The incident happened at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
Officials said the hotel had to cut off power because all the water became an electrical hazard.
"It was like a flood coming down. You looked into the lobby from the doors and it was like rain pouring through the ceiling," said motel guest Andrea Paul.
Guests said they were escorted back into their rooms one-by-one to get their belongings, but they did not know when they would be able to go back into their rooms for good.
Paul said she has had a lot of bad luck lately, and her stay at Crestwood Suites was just the tip of the iceberg.
"It's the last thing we would have expected to happen, but life happens," Paul said.
Paul said she left a domestic violence shelter and was staying in the motel.
A water restoration company said it brought an infrared camera that detects moisture and found water damage in several rooms, the lobby and hallways on the first and second floors.
"I've got four kids with nowhere to go, and they're just going to have to sit out here and wait," Paul said.
Eyewitness News first interviewed Paul in February when she fell victim to a Craigslist scam and found out the home she was renting was really in foreclosure.
"It's sick that someone would take advantage of someone like this," Paul said in February.
Now she's homeless again and said she hopes her string of bad luck finally breaks.
"If we get to go back in, it will be the same old thing. If we can't, we'll probably be sleeping in our van tonight," Paul said.
WFTV is still working to find out what caused the break in the sprinkler line.
Crestwood Suites has not yet responded to requests for a statement.
WFTV
