Management at Chicago apartment building tells residents to turn on ovens for heat

[marmar]

By Dawn Rhodes, Chicago Tribune reporter
8:43 p.m. CST, January 25, 2012


Residents of a high-rise Lincoln Park apartment building are without heat and hot water after Peoples Gas found a blocked chimney was allowing high levels of carbon monoxide to build up.

A letter from the property manager to residents of the 14-story building at 2738 N. Pine Grove Ave. said it could be two to three weeks before the necessary repairs are made and heat is restored. The letter suggests that residents boil water for bathing, buy electric space heaters and "turn your oven on to supplement heat as needed."

The Chicago Fire Department was quick to take issue with the recommendation to use ovens for heat, noting that an open oven can start a fire and create dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

"The Fire Department is strongly against the use of an oven for primary or auxiliary heat to heat an apartment," said spokesman Larry Langford. "The oven is not designed to heat a room." ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-no-heat-building-20120126,0,7683889.story

[kestrel91316]

1. In Los Angeles, where tenants actually have rights (gasp),

Building and Safety and the Rent Control Board would be all over those landlords. They would be forced to pay for temporary housing for the tenants, which would obviously speed up repairs.

[Robb]

2. Yeah, but it would be six months before

anyone in LA noticed the heat was out.

[Tansy_Gold]

3. I lived abour two blocks from there

many years ago. I immediately recognized the street name.

At least the problem was found before anyone died of carbon monoxide poisoning.