Many DC-area residents without air conditioning struggling amid extreme heat
Many DC-area residents without air conditioning struggling amid extreme heat
Tuesday was the hottest day in the D.C. region so far this year. FOX 5 stepped out to get a pulse on how people are coping with the extreme heat, especially without proper air conditioning.
WASHINGTON - Tuesday was the hottest day in the D.C. region so far this year. FOX 5 stepped out get a pulse on how people are coping with the extreme heat—especially the many residents whose air conditioning is on the fritz or not working at all.
Local perspective:
On Monday, FOX 5 reported on an apartment building in Anne Arundel County that hasn’t had air conditioning for more than a week. Tenants sweltering inside their apartments.
We learned that Anne Arundel County, as well as every other jurisdiction across the D.C. region, except for Montgomery County in Maryland, does not require A/C by code.
Anne Arundel County’s Director of Environmental Health, Don Curtian, said the code is quickly becoming outdated.
"When these codes were written, air conditioning was more of a luxury than a necessity. And think back not that long ago, you paid extra for a car that had air conditioning because they came standard without air conditioning," Curtian says. "But those times have changed."
He says that it's going to take new legislation for officials to be able to ensure everyone has access to functioning air conditioning.
"More people see air conditioning as a necessity than a luxury. But until the law changes, we can’t enforce what we think something should be. We have to enforce what the current code says. And our current code does not have a requirement on what cold air has to be and that you have to provide air conditioning. It just says you have to provide heat at 68 degrees," he said.
Dig deeper:
Most old residential buildings have A/C wall units. Newer ones, central air. But again, only Montgomery County requires landlords to provide air conditioning for their tenants.
Former Councilmember Tom Hucker was the lawmaker who pushed the legislation through.
"When I was on the county council, I represented Silver Spring and Silver Spring has a very large group of apartment buildings and a lot of them are older housing stock that lacked air conditioning and we had unfortunately quite a number of deaths of tenants in un-air conditioned apartments," Hucker says. "I just think it should be common sense at this point and it’s as important to health and safety as requiring heat, which everybody requires."
Hucker went on to say that other counties in the area should consider taking up the issue, especially with record heat already hitting the region.
"Our county, like every jurisdiction, has health and safety requirements for residential housing, including, you know, engineering codes, fire codes, smoke detectors, residential. And it’s had, of course, for decades, a requirement to provide heat, because people don’t just suffer, they can die if there’s no heat in their apartments. Air conditioning has really become a life-and-death issue the same way. So, it took a lot of work but I was glad all my council colleagues at the time supported the legislation and I think other jurisdictions ought to take it up," he said.
Curtian adds that it's important to consider building location and structure as well.
"It really has to do with where the property is located," Curtian says. "If you’re on the water and you have a nice breeze blowing off the water, air conditioning may not be as much of a necessity. But if you’re in an apartment complex that is multi-stories, where air is not going to move a whole lot and you’re surrounded by concrete and asphalt, well then maybe air conditioning would be more of a necessity or would be beneficial to people. Especially if you have breathing ailments."
What's next:
We’re told that building in Anne Arundel County, near the Laurel racetrack, is getting its broken A/C system fixed today. Hopefully a cooler night for the many people living there.