The evening of August 13, 2016, around 7 p.m., a lightning strike caused fire to sweep through the north wing of Mount Pleasant Place Apartments. Staff quickly stepped in, many putting themselves in harm’s way, to ensure residents’ safety. The lightning had struck in such a way that the sprinkler system was rendered ineffective, and it took firefighters from 14 area departments almost three hours to put out the blaze. Amazingly, there were no major injuries.

A celebration was held a few months later to honor the staff and first responders who had helped fight the fire and get everyone out of the building safely. After a nearly two-year reconstruction process, residents and staff alike celebrated as they began to move back into their homes in May 2018.