Seniors without air conditioning in Van Nuys complex during heat wave

VAN NUYS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Senior citizens living a high-rise apartment complex in Van Nuys were without air conditioning as temperatures hit the triple digits Saturday afternoon.

A fan in Ingrid Silvestri's apartment blew hot air around the room, and the temps inside were nearly as miserable as the weather outside where the high hit 107 degrees. The air conditioning for her entire building has been broken for more than a week.

"It's unbelievably hot. I hardly can stand it. I don't know what to do anymore. I take showers every hour, but if I'm out from the shower then 10 minutes later I'm hot again," she said. "I think that it is disgusting that we are getting treated like this."

Silvestri is one of more than 200 senior citizens living at Fickett Towers. Many of them are low-income and have medical issues.

Residents said the health department told management to put fans in the lobby to keep it cool, but not everyone is healthy enough to leave their rooms.

Marianne and Christian Anderson said they cannot get a straight answer from management as to when the air conditioning will be fixed.

Stephanie Martin, who has lived in the high-rise for more than 25 years, said the building's swamp cooler was under repair last summer for more than three weeks. This time, Martin hopes she and the other residents do not have to suffer for that long.

"It's just awful and the management just keeps telling us that they're working on it, but nothing seems to be getting done," she said.

Eyewitness News reached out to management and the building owner, but did not receive a response.