SUMTER, S.C. — Residents in Sumter County tell News 19 they’re dealing with a broken elevator at the Garden Circle Apartments complex again.
In November, News 19 reported on the buildings’ closure after the Sumter Fire Department found there were life safety issues when they got a call about a broken elevator involving the fire suppression and alert systems.
Residents were moved into motels while the property owner worked with the city to get the building back up to code. The residents moved back in right before Thanksgiving, but now, they tell us they’re having issues again.
“I’m sick and tired of the elevator because I’m handicapped, you know?” resident James Edward Lee shared.
Lee lives in the apartment complex and says without legs, he can’t leave his unit if the elevator is broken.
“If y’all was in my shape, you’d feel the same way, you know?” Lee said. “I mean, I’m independent. I like to go on my own. I’m in this wheelchair but I take care of me, you know, ‘cuz I worked 58 years of my life you know and I just like to go. I worked outside all my life and I just like to go. I don’t like to be pinned down.”
“It's just a pain,” neighbor Alex Harden shook his head. “It is a pain.’
Now, Harden says the elevator hasn’t been working for at least a week.
“It just, it makes it hard to do…go grocery shopping, do your laundry, I mean anything like that. You know, I've got…my legs are fine, but it's still not easy for me to climb this five steps with anything, you know, like that. My dog doesn't get to go out like I normally take him out because it's just not easy to climb those steps. It's just not and I wouldn't have moved here if I had known I’d have to climb steps all the time.”
“It's a matter of life or not. There are a lot of disabled people in here that depend on that. I live on the seventh floor and I broke my femur and I walk with a brace. I can't get up and down the stairs without a major, major deal,” resident Siri Taylor added. “[Residents’] grocery shopping, all the amenities and the needs of an average day, we don't, they don't exist here.”
Jeffrey Shirley is Sumter Fire Department’s Division Chief, and said his crew can’t do anything about the broken elevator.
“Back in November, the Sumter Fire Department more or less shut the doors on garden circle and it was due to safety issues. So they had no power to their fire pumps which in turn, no sprinkler activity so that building was shut down due to no fire protection. So it was a safety issue at that point,” Shirley explained about the since-resolved issues. “The elevator is not a safety issue, it’s a luxury. So the residents are misunderstanding that the reason they're calling the fire department is for an elevator and that's not necessarily the case. So the elevator is a civil issue between the building occupants and the building owners. It has nothing to do with the fire department.”
Willie Brunson is an attorney. He does not have any connection to this incident ,but News 19 spoke with him to get a legal perspective.
“If in fact your tenants require certain, I guess, modifications or amenities because of disabilities, then that landlord has a duty to make sure that the place is accessible. And in a situation involving elevators when you have multiple floors and you have tenants that are in wheelchairs or otherwise aren't as fit as some, then of course, those are necessary required amenities,” Brunson shared. “Typically it’s the lease that controls the duties and rights between landlord and tenant. But South Carolina has gone a step further and they've enacted something called the South Carolina Landlord Tenant Act. And of course that act of course controls what tenants rights are. It also dictates what landlords duties are and under that act, it requires a number of things, such as landlords should make sure that properties are safe and habitable. They have a duty to ensure that everything's working properly. And if in fact the landlord determines that it is, then they’re supposed to fix it and make sure it's working as it should. Now if they don't, and they fail to adhere to the laws that are put in place, this act also affords the tenants certain rights.”
Brunson said if landlords don’t meet required needs, tenants could potentially terminate their lease early without penalty or bring action in small claims or in common pleas court for damages.
At the same time, Brunson tells us the act protects tenants, who can evict residents and keep security deposits for destruction of property.
News 19 reached out to the property owner, Amalfi Gayosso, who said maintenance staff is scheduled for repair. Gayosso said they are also installing cameras and re-programming the elevator in hopes of finding a permanent solution.
As for when to contact the Sumter Fire Department, Shirley says his crew can help with “anything emergency.”
“So whether it's medical, or a rescue situation or fire situation, anything that you should have to call 911 for if it's non-emergency,” Shirley continued. “Now we do help with guidance on different situations but our focus is always emergencies and helping the public as best that we can.”
An inoperational elevator isn’t a safety concern for the fire department to respond to, Shirley said, because it is not necessary to have in case of an emergency.
“In the event of an actual emergency or a fire alarm, it is not recommended no matter whether you stay in an apartment complex, hotel on vacation, you do not use elevators, because in the event of a power loss, now you're stuck on the elevator and an elevator is not a means of egress,” Shirley said. “It's a luxury for traveling distance between multi story buildings, so your stairwells are your egress points or exit points. So the…it’s a luxury that has been taken away from the residence due to mechanical issues.”
When it comes to action that residents can take regarding specific problems with residences, Brunson says the landlord tenant act covers general situations.
“Specific instances need to be addressed with an attorney,” Brunson said. “So they need to consult a local attorney to determine whether or not they've got a case and to also discover what their rights fully are.”