TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Housing Authority is now working quickly to take over control of an affordable housing complex after a carbon monoxide leak from generators running inside all night sent at least two people to the hospital earlier this year.
RELATED: 2 people hospitalized after carbon monoxide leak at Tampa apartment complex
Carbon monoxide, known as "the silent killer," is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas.
The update comes after the ABC Action News I-Teamdiscovered one of those people, 79-year-old Rafael Santiago, died from carbon monoxide toxicity. His son, Rafael Santiago-Bailey, is now fighting for accountability.
“He brought laughter when there was sadness, all the time," Santiago-Bailey told the I-Team. "I lost someone dear to me."
Tampa Fire Rescue records show on March 17, there was a small kitchen fire at The Oaks at Riverview in the unit above Santiago's apartment. The sprinklers went off and when fire crews arrived, they found water flowing from the third floor. Restoration company Spaulding Decon responded to dry out the building and placed generators inside on the first floor and on the third-floor balcony. The fire marshal said the generators were left on and running directly above and below Santiago's apartment.
"So what you ended up having was a gas chamber for poor Mr. Santiago on the second floor," Joseph Alvarez, one of Santiago-Bailey's attorneys said. "It just doesn't make any sense to me."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says:
- Never run a motor vehicle, generator, pressure washer, or any gasoline-powered engine less than 20 feet from an open window, door, or vent where exhaust can vent into an enclosed area.
- Never run a generator, pressure washer, or any gasoline-powered engine inside a basement, garage, or other enclosed structure, even if the doors or windows are open.
The fire marshal told ABC Action News — that's not what happened. Instead, the generators were inside, running "all night." The incident was ruled "accidental."
“He was given an incredibly large dose of carbon monoxide poisoning for hours upon hours overnight," Santiago-Bailey's other attorney Bill Gower said.
Santiago-Bailey lives in Mississippi and said he tried to reach his father at The Oaks at Riverview.
“I didn’t hear from him and I started calling and nobody would give me answers," he said. “I drove 10 hours just to find out where he was exactly and — I found him.”
Santiago-Bailey found his father in a hospital and told the I-Team he was in the worst condition he'd ever seen.
"Hooked up to machines, he was intubated for a while, he couldn’t talk, he just stared agaze. It was terrible," he said.
Hospital records confirm Santiago had carbon monoxide poisoning and "had not followed any commands."
“The doctors said, 'He’ll never change.' He would never ever be the same again," Santiago-Bailey said.
His father died May 10 of carbon monoxide toxicity, 54 days after the carbon monoxide leak.
Damaris Sanchez was friends with Santiago. She was visiting her mother, who lives at The Oaks at Riverview in Santiago's building, the night of the carbon monoxide leak. Isabel Nieves, who is 89 years old and has dementia, was taken to the hospital that night and Sanchez said, spent two weeks there.
Hospital records state she "was found not to have carbon monoxide poisoning" but her daughter, Sanchez, is convinced she was impacted.
When asked if anyone from the apartment complex or owners contacted her family after the carbon monoxide leak, she said, “I don’t see nobody here. Nobody. Nobody coming to ask if my mom is ok, nada. Nothing.”
“All we’re talking about here is Tampa Housing Authority and the people that Tampa Housing Authority does business with, chooses to do business with. And so if the people of this community can say, you know, this isn’t acceptable, and demand that there’s action taken, then we can prevent something like this from happening again," Gower said.
When asked what he would want his father to know, Santiago-Bailey said, "He knows. He knows I'm going to take care of him. And I’m going to make sure that this gets taken care of."
Gower and Alvarez sent a demand letter, naming the restoration company Spaulding Decon and Edgewood Management. They also sent a notice to the Tampa Housing Authority of their intent to file suit.
The Tampa Housing Authority told the I-Team it owns the land, which is reflected in Hillsborough County records, but said Urban Atlantic is the property owner, that they own the buildings. Urban Atlantic is a development and investment company based in Maryland.
Alvarez and Gower said they plan to file suit "very soon."
“It’s not good enough for you just to say okay, well we handed it over to this property management company and it’s their responsibility at that stage," Alvarez said.
Urban Atlantic, Edgewood Management and Spaulding Decon have yet to respond to phone calls and messages the I-Team sent over several weeks.
Tampa Housing Authority Statement:
"Along with the City of Tampa Code Enforcement, the Tampa Housing Authority remains very concerned about the maintenance, health, and overall welfare issues facing the residents at Oaks of Riverview. Although it is easy to assume that Tampa Housing Authority should be handling this matter, we do not own or manage this community.
Rather, Urban Atlantic simply has a ground lease with THA which ensures that rent affordability standards will continue to be met. Unfortunately, the ground lease does not give THA the legal authority to enter Urban Atlantic’s community or apartments to appropriately address this problem. That said, we have made frequent and urgent calls for Urban Atlantic to address these egregious issues, and we are appalled that they have chosen to ignore us and allow the situation to not only continue but worsen.
Tampa Housing Authority has begun discussions to buy the property from Urban Atlantic to put a halt to these unconscionable matters and to bring the property up to the standard that every resident should enjoy and expect. We are moving through these negotiations as quickly as possible and will hopefully have this property under THA ownership in the very near future."
