This browser does not support the Video element.
GERMANTOWN (WTXF) - Residents of a Germantown senior center can't seem to escape the cold, even in the comfort of their own apartments.
FOX 29 has received a number of calls in the past few days from residents inside the Germantown House senior living facility saying they were freezing inside their homes.
With the past few days bringing such brutal cold, residents bundled up as they piled into the building's lobby to talk about taking action.
"It's just so unfair I've lived my life, worked, raised family this is my time now and I'm pretty sick and tired," one resident explained to the crowd.
"It seems like the heat works only when they want it to work," another resident claimed.
Home health aide Elena says the heating issues seem to pop up at random.
"It's a constant thing with no heat, little heat. Today we actually have some heat which is a miracle but otherwise the oven goes on all the time to keep us warm," Elena explained.
Resident Billy Sturgis showed FOX 29's Joyce Evans the vents in the hallways, which seem to be part of the problem, as they blow in the cold air.
Philadelphia Housing Authority Officials say those vents draw fresh air from outside, and in the winter a built-in heater is designed to warm that air.
Resident council president Veatrice Johnson says neighbors try everything to block out the cold blast from the hall, and still their water barely heats up, so they take chances using their ovens.
The Philadelphia Housing Authority has responded to FOX 29 saying a crew went out this afternoon and found the extreme cold was preventing the heaters in the ventilation fans from warming the air, so they turned the fans off.
FOX 29 checked back with residents Tuesday night and they say some fans are still blowing full force.
As for heating inside the apartments, PHA says they found nothing wrong with the building's system but they are now overriding their energy-saving feature in light of the extreme weather.