On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 15, News 5 was at Boulevard Terrace Apartments on Detroit Avenue after residents reported having little to no heat.
“One minute my heat want to work, (the) next minute it’s out,” said renter Kayla Taylor, a mother of two.
Taylor was using her stove to keep warm. It’s something firefighters, the Red Cross, and other agencies say shouldn’t be done due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. She said an electric heater kept tripping the breaker in her home.
Taylor was one of several tenants who told News 5 that their heat wasn’t working and that it had been an ongoing issue.
Deborah Rodriguez’s thermostat showed 59 degrees that day.
“I have two space heaters. I have one heater in our room, and we’ve been camping out in my room,” Rodriguez said. “And then I have a slightly larger one that’s trying to keep the house warm so pipes won’t explode.”
The next day, Rodriguez reported her heat issues had been resolved, and her thermostat was reading 70 degrees.