Residents of senior apartments in Newtown Square relied on their own wits and on each other to get through a four-day power outage that had them battling sweltering conditions after last week’s storm, writes Eva Andersen and Will Kenworthy for CBS Philadelphia.
Power returned at 3 PM Monday to Newtown Towers, an apartment complex. The outage left dozens of older adults, many on fixed incomes with only limited mobility, without air conditioning, elevators, or refrigeration.
Sue Dougherty, 76, had to clean out her refrigerator, then stayed with family, returning Monday to check on her cat, Rita.
Residents without nearby family found their own unique ways to stay cool.
Blanche Aboyan, 71, spent time in her parked car running the air conditioning. She watched utility crews work for hours in the heat, clearing tree branches from power lines.
Resident Bob McDonald reported that several neighbors were taken by emergency vehicle to the hospital because of the heat.
The overall experience, though, brought everyone closer together.
“In an emergency like this, we all try to help each other — give each other water. Whatever we can do,” Dougherty said. “We have a lot of camaraderie here.”
Read more about how senior apartment residents in Newtown Square coped during a four-day power outage at CBS Philadelphia.
Editor’s Note: This post was initially published on DELCO.Today in June 2025.
