Timber Top residents air past complaints after fatal gas poisoning at apartments

A defective building boiler was the source of the carbon monoxide that led to the death last week of one woman and sickened others at a Timber Top apartment building in Akron, the property management company said.

Meanwhile, several residents affected by the incident approached City Council on Monday night with numerous complaints about the complex.

A new boiler is on-site at the Rocky Brook Drive building, with Timber Top contractors still needing various city inspections and permits before it can be installed, said Danielle Novak, managing director for AIY Properties, the complex's property management company. Officials suspected the old boiler, turned on for the first time Thursday morning to heat the building this fall, was the cause of the fatal gas.

Novak said she hopes residents of the 20-unit building will be able to return to their homes before the end of the week. Some residents have been staying in hotel rooms paid for by the management company, while others are staying with family or friends, Novak said.

Each of the 20 units now has a carbon monoxide detector installed, and AIY is making CO detectors available for free for other Timber Top residents through the on-site leasing office, Novak said. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that at high levels can sicken and kill people.

City officials were doing inspections Tuesday at the Merriman Valley apartment complex, Akron fire Lt. Tim Morrison said. Boiler inspectors from the State Department of Commerce Industrial Compliance were also at the site, city spokeswoman Stephanie Marsh said.

Carbon monoxide poisoning apparently killed Eva Burgess, 66, from Mentor, who was found dead by first responders inside one apartment shortly after midnight on Friday. She was found in a bathroom and may have been at the apartment visiting a family member, the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office said last week.

At least seven other people, including two babies, were hospitalized with apparent carbon monoxide poisoning.

Akron Fire Chief Clarence Tucker last week said that tests showed carbon monoxide levels as high as 900 parts per million in some places in the building. Those levels are "very deadly" he said.

The carbon monoxide poisoning was discovered shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday when a Timber Top resident called for paramedics saying he was not feeling well. He also was concerned about the health of his pets.

A paramedic discovered four dead pet birds in the apartment, suspected carbon monoxide and called for additional help and testing. First responders then evacuated residents from the apartment units and found some people, including the two babies, unconscious.

Timber Top residents offer list of complaints

During the public comments section of City Council's meeting Monday night, several residents of the apartment complex offered emotional testimony about the emergency and its aftermath, as well as past complaints about the complex.

Vincent Morgan said he and his wife ended up taking their twin boys, ages 1½, to Akron Children's Hospital about 1:30 a.m. Friday after a paramedic suggested the children get checked out.

"There's lucky people here ... I could have lost all three of my children and the mother of my child," he said, demanding the city address the issue with the owners.

"I just want you to put yourself in my shoes," he said. "At 11 o'clock at night, after working 10-plus hours, you're called that your family is being evacuated. You show up. There are fire trucks, police officers, ambulances all around your building.

"Picture yourself suffering like we are suffering. My youngest son has tremors and shakes. Still, he is crying in his sleep and it's been almost a week."

Another resident, Nakeya Watson, said heating has been a constant problem.

"Every year, there has been an issue with the heat. When it is subzero temperatures, we don't have heat in our apartment and we pay for heat to be provided," she said. "They do not turn on the heat; they're giving us excuses: 'The boiler's broken,' Fix it! 'Oh well, the temperature has to be a certain temperature for a certain amount of days before we can turn it on.' They're giving us excuses and the thing is, this could have been prevented.

"There have been multiple complaints about the heating system over the years and they've done nothing," Watson said. "And then finally we complained and I said I'm going to call the city if you don't turn the heat on, and this happens."

Ward 5 Councilwoman Tara Mosley later cited a city ordinance dealing with property owner responsibilities to notify tenants regarding violations. She asked the administration to provide council with a report on any prior complaints about Timber Top the city has received.

"So I want to know from our housing department if they can check and see how many complaints have been received about Timber Top," she said. "It clearly needs to be an issue."

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Timber Top residents share complaints after defective boiler created fatal gas