Seniors at Detroit apartment sweating it out in high heat with no air conditioning

DETROIT (FOX 2) - When Chris Marsh readies for bed, she has to lay down the opposite direction on her bed - sleeping with her feet at the head of the bed. It's the only way she can get any relief from the lone fan blowing air in her room.

Marsh is one of 119 seniors living without air conditioning at Brush Park Manor Paradise Valley. 

Temperatures, already on the rise and hitting 90 degrees this week, could peak in the triple digits in the next several days. The impending heat is so worrying some residents are even seeking a higher power for help.

"We pray right now Lord that you move in this situation, we pray right now God that you bring cooling to the situation," said Pastor Kelly R. Jackson of the Kingdom, Christian Church.

"Everything's going to be alright," said the woman holding his hand.

For 76-year-old Frances Sinclair, all she has heard is excuses for why there's no air conditioning.

"I feel dizzy. I have to sit directly in front of a fan," she said.

The complaints are similar to other issues residents at Paradise Valley had a month ago. At the time, the management company had promised air conditioning would get fixed - and it was. But then it broke again.

The interim housing administrator, Deborah Beard, says a missing piece needed for the air conditioning system is on order and should arrive by Friday. The HVA company said it would install it on Monday, though Beard hopes it gets fixed sooner.

"We’re always been told a part is missing," said Sinclair. "That was said last year when we went through the same thing."