Some Pitt students say their dorm has had no heat for days
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- When you live in Pittsburgh, you expect to have to bundle up during the winter months. But you'd never think you'd have to wear that same winter attire when you go to bed.
Sleeping in earmuffs has become the norm for some students inside a dorm at the University of Pittsburgh. No heat is just the latest problem students in about half of Bouquet Gardens Building J have had to endure. Last semester, the hot water was sporadic at best and was just permanently fixed earlier this month.
"Someone's gotta know about this. This is ridiculous that we're paying for this and this is the response that we get," said Gianni Slowik.
Slowik lives in Bouquet Gardens Building J on the University of Pittsburgh's campus. He says for five days now, he along with half the building has had to bundle up with multiple coats, hats, gloves, shoes and blankets inside their dorm just to get some sleep.
After numerous failed attempts, including calls and emails, to get an adequate response from Pitt officials, Slowik decided to call KDKA-TV for help.
"Yeah we could go to the library but we're paying for this place that we're supposed to be able to sleep in. We're supposed to be able to relax and come back and do our homework in," Slowik said.
The thermostat in Slowik's dorm reads 83 degrees but the actual temperature is 64 degrees, which is well below the heat law in Pennsylvania.
Slowik says several maintenance workers have been to the dorm several times throughout the week to address the issue but, they always have the same response.
"'Yeah, sorry, I couldn't figure it out, it's a problem bigger than this. But in the meantime, I got you these two small space heaters but hopefully if you need more, you can call us, we're open 24/7,'" said junior Tyler Wright, imitating the response from maintenance.
In Pitt's residential handbook, it says in black and white that space heaters are not permitted in dorm rooms.
Yet, that was their solution for the students living in frigid temperatures instead of finding temporary housing slowik and wright say until the heat is fixed.
"Space heaters account for about 81% of house fires. So that was something for me, kind of like, well it seems like the University of Pittsburgh is so eager to rectify their error that they're willing to put their student's lives at risk," Slowik said.
In a statement to KDKA-TV, Pitt officials said:
"University officials have been in contact with students and provided portable heaters until repairs are made. After obtaining the necessary parts earlier today, a contractor is on scene working to repair the system. The university strives to ensure all maintenance issues are addressed swiftly, and regrets the extended repair time in this instance."
The students KDKA-TV spoke with want the university to reimburse their housing costs for neglecting to provide hot water and heat.
