Residents forced to move out due to flooding in the T Lofts Apartments could be back home in two weeks.

Kayla Koehmstedt, a second floor resident, said she and her roommate Rachel Schmaltz have been told they “should be able to get back in around April 4.” The two lived in one of the 21 units on the first and second floors damaged when two suspects opened a fire standpipe in a stairwell, activating the sprinkler system, which flooded the two floors.

Damages

Danielle Paulus, Roers Property Management director, said damages are hard to estimate at this point, as her calls to insurance agents haven’t yet yielded a summary of costs.

“As you can imagine, it was substantial damage, and we had units that had to move out,” Paulus said in an email.

“Unfortunately this project is going to take a while so the estimate of damages usually doesn’t come till the repairs are completed,” she added.

Schmaltz said she heard damages “will go over $100,000 for sure, at least.”

Koehmstedt and Schmaltz, both Rugby, N.D., natives, have lived with family friends since they moved out March 8. The two rented a storage unit to house their possessions. Koehmstedt said they only lost some boots to floodwater.

Their apartment, like others, had to be gutted from its floors to its cupboards to its bathrooms, Koehmstedt said.

T Lofts residents are required to have a renters’ insurance policy as a provision to their lease, Paulus said.

Investigation

Police are still searching for a second suspect in connection to the T Lofts Apartments flooding.

Fargo Police arrested Daniel Schoonover, 18, of Fargo on March 6 on a charge of criminal mischief, but later released him.

The investigation has “no new information,” said Fargo Police Deputy Chief Joseph Anderson. “We are still trying to locate the second suspect.”

Paulus said the T Lofts have security footage of the suspects entering and fleeing the building.

The T Lofts houses 181 units and is largely occupied by college students.