07/09/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, USA // Tara Monks // Tara Monks
Paterson, NJ – More than 200 residents of a northern New Jersey apartment building were evacuated Thursday, July 8, 2010, because the complex’s air conditioning system failed amid the excruciating heat wave that is overtaking the northeast, as reported by ABC Local. The assisted living complex was reportedly city funded.
City officials ordered the evacuation Thursday afternoon, after residents suffered without air conditioning for three days. A resident in the 21-story Marray M. Bisgainer Residence died on Wednesday, according to the same officials.
It was discovered that temperatures in the building reached 96 degrees.
A private contractor worked into the night on Thursday to fix the problem. The air conditioning was reported to be working again.
Officials are investigation the reason behind the three-day lag in repairing the cooling system for the apartments.
The name of the man who died on Wednesday had not been released, as of Friday, July 9, 2010.
The Star Ledger reported the man was 70-year-old.
NorthJersey.com reported power problems were to blame for the lack of air conditioning.
A son of one of the residents in the facility asked NorthJersey, “Why did it take three days?” referring to the length of time it took for response to the heat. He added, “It took somebody to die to fix it.”
During the evacuation, firefighters went door to door of the three-building complex, to alert residents of the evacuation orders and aid those that needed it.
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