MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Maya Sesson says the heat in her apartment hasn’t worked since the week before Thanksgiving, so she’s resorted to turning on her stove.
“I have to burn my stove to stay warm or go over to a friend’s house or a family member’s house,” said Sesson.
Sesson said it was management at the Bent Tree Apartments that recommended she use her stove for heat.
“Then when I called they said they had so many work order forms for the heat that I have to wait my turn to get it fixed,” she said.
Sesson said crews finally repaired the heat just before New Year’s, but the fix was only temporary.
“It stayed on probably like a few days or maybe a week and now it is out again,” said Sesson.
When WREG went to the leasing office to get answers, a man closed the door on our crew.
Session said her six-year-old son has had to evacuate to his father’s house while she waits for the heat to return and she is rethinking her living arrangements.
“I’m thinking about moving because I say if I pay my rent, I’m supposed to be able to lay comfortably,” she said.
The Shelby County Fire Department advised earlier this month against using stoves to heat homes, calling it a “potential danger.”
