Following temperature lows of -17 degrees Fahrenheit Wednesday and Thursday, numerous Ann Arbor tenants faced difficulties resulting from the inclement weather.
Several apartment buildings around campus contended with burst pipes and heating malfunctions Thursday due to the low temperatures. Varsity Ann Arbor, an apartment building on E. Washington Street largely housing University of Michigan students, dealt with these problems yesterday afternoon.
On Thursday at about 1 p.m., Varsity Management sent out an email to its tenants, stating that a water pipe had frozen and burst, leading to a fire alarm going off on the 3rd floor of the apartments. Consequently, heating and hot water throughout the building was limited for much of the day.
Tenants from Six11, another apartment building on East University Street, also reported power outages resulting from the weather on Thursday. LSA sophomore Michelle Telsey lives in Six11 and recalls the sudden loss of power that lasted for roughly three hours in her apartment.
“All of a sudden the power went out,” Telsey said. “You hear screams throughout the hallway, people in the different apartments start peeking their heads out. … It’s kind of the only time you ever see the people in the apartments next to you. It’s funny how in times of stress, that’s when you rely on the neighbors in the other apartments.”
Telsey said Six11 was in contact with its tenants, sending updates through email. She also noted these issues despite the building’s new construction.
“I think the building, Six11, was pretty on top of it,” Teslay said. “They knew they had a lot of people relying on them to get it back up and running. I think it’s interesting how even though Six11 is a new building, like it was built less than a year ago, how it has these issues as opposed to older buildings. You would suspect the opposite.”
Consumers Energy, a Michigan-based utility company, announced Wednesday that consumers should turn the temperature in their houses to 65 degrees Fahrenheit while at home, and 62 degrees Fahrenheit while away until temperatures return to normal levels so as to prevent further heating malfunctions.