Some tenants of a Millcreek Township apartment building are being forced to temporarily relocate after a ceiling collapsed Sunday evening.

Many were allowed back in Monday morning to grab their belongings.

One resident said she was up all night making a list of all the things she needed to grab as she plans to leave for the holidays.

"I just had to pack a little extra, but it all works out," said Mary Janet Areys. "I'm sure if everyone is safe, they will get it situated."

Others are not so lucky. The Red Cross told Erie News Now 11 families have reached out to the organization for help.

It's something Areys said she never thought she would experience just days before Christmas.

"It's a difficult situation," said Areys. "You see these things on the news. It happens to other people, like fires, and it just happens to you."

The Reserve at Millcreek issued the following statement to Erie News Now Monday afternoon:

On Sunday December 22nd, an apartment in one of our buildings had a partial collapsed ceiling in one room. The resident in the apartment contacted emergency services rather than our emergency maintenance service. He suffered no serious injuries. After a subsequent inspection, the source of the damage could not be determined. In the interest of safety and an abundance of caution the Millcreek Office of Emergency Management (OEM) asked all residents to temporarily leave the building, pending an investigation into the cause as well as a plan for repairs if necessary. Until further notice, access to the building is being restricted by the Millcreek OEM. This is an isolated incident and no other buildings have been affected.

The Reserve at Millcreek is working closely with Millcreek OEM staff, engineering firms and a local architectural firm to determine the cause of the damage and how to make any repairs if necessary. At this time, we fully expect to be able to make repairs and to allow everyone to return to their homes once those repairs have been made. Effected tenants were offered short term support from the American Red Cross, and we are in communication with those tenants to keep them informed of the status of their apartment. Unfortunately, for privacy reasons we are not able to discuss specific plans with anyone who has not been affected by this event.

Since coming under new ownership in 2017, The Reserve at Millcreek has continuously worked to repair the damage and neglect caused by prior ownership and have worked closely with Millcreek township officials to do so. It has been our goal to provide high quality housing to our hundreds of tenants, and the reviews we have received from those tenants are overwhelmingly positive. We remain committed to that goal and will work tirelessly to resolve this situation to the satisfaction of everyone who has been affected