(WWJ) - Residents across several cities in Southeast Michigan are dealing with a myriad of issues from frozen or busted pipes to broken down boilers and no heat as bone-chilling Arctic air continues to grip the region this week.
In Troy, city officials stepped in and ordered 100 to 150 residents at the Troy Place Apartments, at Crooks and Big Beaver, out of their homes, citing dangerous living conditions due to a "lack of a fully functional heating system, apparent fire suppression frozen pipes and elevator failure," WWJ's Charlie Langton reports.
"They've got to move out immediately and that's because the Troy Health Department shut the place down," Langton added after receiving complaints.
Resident Nick Erard, who has lived at the apartment complex since 2017 with his dog, told Langton he started getting concerned when he went several days with low or no heat -- then on Thursday, came home to a notice on his door.
"I have to leave the building apparently and everyone got this on their doors as far as I can see. I'm not really sure where people are supposed to go," Erard said. "This is even more inconvenient that not having heat, I hate to say."
City officials stated on their website that resources would be provided, but according to Erard, "that's certainly not the case."
According to Langton, the Red Cross is offering some help and has set up a reception center at a local church. As reported by The Detroit Free Press, city officials hired shuttle buses and sent over six social workers from the county’s mental health provider to assist developmentally disabled residents find other living arrangements.
Officials with the Oakland County Emergency Management in Pontiac were also on standby to help residents with rental assistance if needed, public information officer Kevin Sadaj said to the Free Press.
The owners of the complex, listed as Troy Place Owner LLC in Beachwood, Ohio, near Cleveland, agreed to make repairs starting Friday morning, City Manager Mark Miller said.
The issue? One of two boilers broke down while the other "was old and not enough to heat the whole building," Miller added.
Langton said he called the apartment complex, but "they hung up on me, I guess, so we're trying to figure out exactly what's gonna happen there."
In Detroit, residents at the Rouge Woods Apartments at 23230 Fenkell Avenue are dealing with ruptured pipes that sent water rushing down walls, through light fixtures and sloshing into hallways.
Resident Ebony Beauford told WDIV that she heard the fire alarm going off before opening her door and seeing water -- everywhere.
"You could hear it pouring down through the walls," she said.
WWJ's Mike Campbell reported live from the scene on Friday morning, stating the power went out for two days -- before the pipes froze and finally burst.
The Detroit Fire Department arrived at the complex and shut the water off, but water had already flooded units to the point where items were afloat.
Residents told WDIV that management offered bags so people could gather items, but the left when the clock hit 5 p.m. Calls made by local news outlets to the leasing agent, Brightmoor Homes, were not returned.
The National Weather Service said on Friday morning that the frigid cold air will continue across the Great Lakes region into the weekend, with the the coldest air arriving Saturday morning.
Wind chills are expected to drop to or below -10F, but there is some relief in sight.
A "warm up" is on the horizon for next week as temperatures return to more average numbers with highs expects to reach the teens and into the 20s for most of the Metro Detroit area by Monday