Residents of an apartment complex in Hialeah say the last few days have been terrible, as they have been without power following a fire in the electrical room.
Residents of 1255 W 49th Place say 30 apartments have been affected by the power outage. Some have moved to escape the heat elsewhere, but those who have no place else to go say staying there is a nightmare.
“It’s impossible. It feels like suffering misery in Cuba,” neighbor Diannet told our sister station Telemundo 51 in Spanish, fanning herself and her daughter with a piece of paper. “Nobody has come here, absolutely nobody. Nobody knocks on your door, nobody asks you (how you are), nobody tells you when this will be over. Nobody. We are just here, drifting aimlessly. We don’t know what to do.”
She and other families said it all started on Thursday when a fire broke out in the electrical room around 5 a.m.
“FPL came quickly. They cut off the electricity in the apartments, but that’s it. They’re not doing anything because… it’s the responsibility of the condominium,” said Bernardo, an affected resident. “I bought a generator so at least my refrigerator works and a small fan because the heat is not comfortable.”
Diannet said her family also started a generator, but even then it could not run all day.
“Who pays for the gas for the generator? Who pays for the spoiled food? Where is the help? We are in the United States, the best country in the world, and this is inhumane,” she said.
In the scorching heat, Diannet worries about her daughter, who has asthma.
Another resident said her child could not sleep.
“I have a ten-year-old son who can’t sleep either. He goes to school, we all work, my husband and I. It’s very hard,” she said.
The homeowners association said it was working with a private company to make repairs to the electrical room. On Monday, leaflets were posted on apartment doors saying the damage was severe.
Residents said crews are working hard to repair the damaged lines, but there is no exact date yet for when Florida Power & Light will be able to safely turn the power back on.
Behind the scenes, the association’s chairman explained that they were working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
“They are working hard and trying hard. But they say it will take between 15 and 20 days,” said resident María Nuñez, who said she had to leave her home because she could not stand the sweltering temperatures.
The city of Hialeah said in a statement that it is only responsible for granting companies like FPL the necessary permits to carry out their work, but is not directly involved in the provision of electricity.
