RICHMOND, Va. – Residents at a senior home reached out to the CBS 6 Problem Solvers over temperature inside the facility.
“These people are suffering, it`s inhumane,” said resident Elizabeth Taylor. “I`m suffering. “
The warm weather recently may have had people opening the windows, or turning on the air conditioning.
But at the Church Hill House on Burton Street, residents said that the heating system hasn’t been switched off.
Taylor wants to be a voice for neighbors living in the assisted living facility.
“There are people in that building with oxygen tanks, they can`t breathe,” Taylor said. “They`ll come outside in the rain to get relief.”
“We need to get the air on,” said resident Andrew Strickland. “They`ve been cutting it on, on May 15th -- and that`s too late.
Residents hope the thermostat is changed before temperatures rise again
Some residents said there are other problems.
“I’m holding the air filter from my apartment,” Strickland said. “This air filter hasn`t been changed since 2015. HUD requires them to put a date on it.”
Taylor points to picture of piled up trash inside, and said the heat makes the smell worse.
“It doesn`t make sense, the hotter it gets, the higher the bacteria,” Taylor said. “And, the smell? The stench! It`s unthinkable.”
Taylor filed a complaint with the city.
The Commissioner of Buildings Doug Murrow confirmed a city inspector went out last week, and noted the inside temperature was above 80 degrees. Management was served a notice of violation.
Murrow said facilities like these must, by state code, have proper ventilation with fresh air circulating at all times.
He also said the code requires buildings to transition from heat to air no later than May 15, but explained that there`s no penalty against them for turning on the air sooner.
“I have five fans going in my one bedroom apt and they`re only circulating heat,” Taylor said.
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