KENT, Wash. — At SHAG Titus Village in Kent, Michal Thomas said Wednesday marked the 11th day that the elevator at the senior living apartments has been broken.
"It is hard for me to get around, so I have to use a wheelchair," Thomas said.
Management for SHAG said supply chain issues have been an ongoing problem and all of their "elevator maintenance vendors are experiencing the same issues." If not for those issues, SHAG said, the elevator would have been repaired by now.
A concerned son-in-law who lives out of state alerted KING 5 with an email, writing, "my Father in Law's safety and the safety of the other tenants is being completely disregarded."
On Wednesday, Thomas said it is unacceptable.
"This has just been a total mess," he said.
On Thursday, the city of Kent issued a 10-day correction notice to SHAG to return the elevator to service.
"Our expectation is that SHAG will expedite the repair of the elevator and provide accommodations for the vulnerable populations which reside there," city officials said in a statement.
If the necessary parts and diagnostics tools are available, representatives for SHAG said technicians would be on site to try to repair and return the elevator to service.
James Brown is another resident who lives on an upper floor. He uses a cane to help him walk.
"I can't afford to be stuck on that second floor," Brown said.
Brown has been attempting to use the stairs. He says he already fell once while the elevator has been broken.
Thomas said he had to go to a doctor's appointment and called the fire department for help.
"When the fire department came, they picked me up at 7 a.m. yesterday. I got back here at 1 p.m., and there was already four people ahead of me to go up the stairs," Thomas said.
Pat Pawlak, a division chief with Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority, said firefighters have responded to the senior living apartments 25 times since Feb. 1. Pawlak said, at this time, it is unclear how many of those responses were related to the elevator.
"It is more responses than we typically see," Pawlak said on Wednesday.
Residents have been calling 911 for help to get up and down the stairs at Titus Village, Pawlak said. He added that it is creating a safety concern because if firefighters are helping with the broken elevator and an emergency happens in the area, then fire units from farther away might need to be called in to help. That could slow response times.
"We are waiting for the elevator to be fixed, but at the same time, you are not waiting for that rent to be paid," said Brown, referring to apartment management.