Electrical malfunction leaves condos in the dark, families displaced in Silver Spring
Nov 18, 2024
SILVER SPRING, Md. (DC News Now) – Hundreds of people at the Grand Bel II Condominiums in Silver Spring are without a home after an electrical issue left them without power.
Neighbors said they’ve had some tough days since the electricity went out for nearly 250 people at the condominiums late last week. With a little help, they’re hoping the issue will be resolved soon.
“The air conditioning isn’t working,” Ana Roberson, who lives at the complex, said. “The heating isn’t heating, no lights, no nothing.”
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Impatience is growing for people at Grand Bell II Condominiums now that their homes have been without power for days.
“This is bad,” Roberson said. “We pay too much money for this.”
Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs said it looks like a problem with the electrical feed left 80 condos without power.
For now, the units are considered uninhabitable, which means hundreds of people had to leave their homes and find temporary housing.
Emergency management crews are teaming up with the American Red Cross to provide shelter.
“We are offering a safe place to stay,” American Red Cross National Capital and Greater Chesapeake Region communications director Bethany Bray Patterson said. “We have Red Cross volunteers who are here 24 hours a day to support the shelter. We are also providing meals, so everyone has three meals a day here.”
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Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services senior emergency manager Christopher Burt said the goal is to make sure nobody "feels forgotten or is forgotten."
"We will do our best and stand at the ready to be of service to them in their time of need," Burt said.
County officials said anyone who needs assistance can call 311 or go to the Mid County Community Recreation Center.