MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Residents at a Waco apartment complex have gone without gas for a week, leaving them unable to cook or shower. Management, the city, and Atmos Energy offer conflicting information about restoration.
- Residents at Summit at the Villages of Waco apartment complex have been without gas for cooking or hot showers for nearly a week, with some reporting health concerns due to dietary changes.
- The property management company claims the outage was caused by stray bullets hitting a gas meter, requiring them to shut off service while working with Atmos Energy and the city.
- Management promised hot plates and portable showers by Thursday morning, but residents say they never received these accommodations.
Watch Dominique find out what's causing the problem:
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Residents at Summit at the Villages of Waco apartment complex have been without gas since early Saturday morning, leaving them unable to cook meals or take hot showers.
"When you get up and have breakfast in the morning, no gas, and no hot water," said Larry Branch, who lives at the complex.
Branch hasn't been able to take a hot shower or cook himself a meal for seven days. He said many residents weren't properly informed about the situation.
"One lady who lives across the courtyard from me, she's deaf, and she came over and asked me about it, and I told her, 'NO GAS'. She was dissatisfied cause nobody told her," Branch said.
Barbara Young, another resident, told 25 News the situation has affected her health.
"Basically I was eating sandwiches and stuff which I don't need cause I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, I have heart problems, I have to watch how I eat," Young said.
When 25 News reporter Dominique Leh called the apartment complex Wednesday to get confirmation on the gas leak, management refused to provide details.
Dominique Leh then contacted the property management company, which explained the leak started from stray bullets hitting the meter. They shut the gas off and have been working with Atmos Energy and the city since Sunday to fix the problem.
During Leh's Wednesday call, the management company said residents would receive hot plates and portable showers by Thursday morning. However, when Leh spoke with residents on Friday, they hadn't heard anything about these accommodations.
"We haven't heard anything about that! Nobody told us anything about that," Young said.
Residents received two notices informing them of the shut-off, but without a timeline for restoration.
On Friday morning, while interviewing Branch, Leh was asked to leave the property by complex management.
The City of Waco confirmed to Leh that the gas permit passed on Wednesday, and maintenance was turning the gas back on Friday morning. Atmos Energy reported the gas was restored Thursday evening, and the apartment management company claimed service was restored to all residents Thursday night at 10 p.m.
However, when Dominique called Branch Friday at 11:30 a.m., he contradicted these claims.
"No ma'am, still don't have gas, they don't know what's going on," Branch said.
Branch expressed several neighbors feel the same way but didn't want to speak on camera for fear of retaliation from the apartment complex.
25 News reporter Dominique Leh spoke with Larry Branch on Friday at 5pm, he said his gas had been restored to his apartment.
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