KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- People around West Michigan have been battling the snow, wind and cold for several days now, some without heat or hot water in their homes.
Residents at University Village apartments in Kalamazoo say they have had a heck of a time waiting for hot water and heat to return to their apartments.
We spoke with one mother of a two-year-old boy who says she was told to turn on her oven and leave it on to heat her apartment.
Authorities say that’s a terrible idea; it’s a fire hazard, and you run the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. It’s even more dangerous with a young child around.
The manager of the complex says he doesn’t know who gave the mom that advice, but the heat was fixed as quickly as possible. He insisted residents were only without heat for 24 hours, though the tenants say it has been a week.
“(We) just finally got the heat back on," Ashley Detwiler said. "Bbut we called the code inspector this morning, and he came out. If it wasn’t for him coming out, we’d still be sitting here without heat."
“We didn’t have hot water for four days, meanwhile I was boiling hot water for my infant daughter. She’s about nine weeks old,” Tim Fisher, another tenant, said.
Fortunately for all those families, the heat is now on, and so is the hot water. They just hope that it stays that way, because it certainly isn’t going to warm up any time soon.
