'I need power for my oxygen machine': St. Thomas, Ont. apartment building without power for six days

Mike Gleeson has not had the hydro he needs in his apartment to hook up his oxygen machine for the past six days.

With the power shut off in his Pearl Street apartment in St. Thomas, he’s been relying on running extension cords to an outside source.

“I give 12 post-dated cheques at the start of the year so I’m all paid up,” said Gleeson, who wondered why the power has been shut off to his and two other apartments in the seven unit building.

Upstairs, residents Cody and Stephanie Saunders are being left in the dark in multiple ways.

“We lost power six days ago, and no contact from [the] property manager or landlord,” said Stephanie.

Cody had to empty his refrigerator that was full of food which had gone bad. He also had to throw out two bags of food from their freezer.

Cody Saunders of St. Thomas, Ont. says all the food in his fridge and freezer has gone bad after being without power since Oct. 11, 2023. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

“We’ve borrowed a long extension cord from another tenant to be able to get our phones charged finally,” said Cody.

Kira Foster lives in the other unit without power. She has outdoor light during the day, but for someone with a disability and only one good arm, she said she puts herself at risk after daylight is gone.

She needs to use her phone flashlight just to get up the stairs.

“It’s pitch black,” said Foster, who had to run cords from upstairs to the downstairs entry hallway. “The only daylight we get is the street lights from outside. Its dark, and I almost tripped on my cords like three times, so it’s very scary.”

Over the past week, all three are forced to eat either fast food, or have someone bring them something warm to eat.

“I can't cook anything without my stove or microwave,” said Gleeson. “I have no lights in the bathroom, bedroom or living room. I’m just basic to keep my machines running.”

The City of St. Thomas has posted a notice on the front doors of the building that stated the owner is not in compliance with property standards. It also added they need to be in compliance and/or have power restored by Nov. 2.

The City of St. Thomas posted a note on the front of the building at 42 Pearl St., stating the owner is not in compliance of property standards. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

Gleeson said this is the third incident in the past four months, with gas, hot water and now hydro being shut off.

"It’s got to do with his landlord,” said Gleeson. “The owner is from Toronto. They said it's supposed to be on anytime now but I'll believe it when I see it.”

All tenants said they have paid their bills on time, and wondered where their money has gone.

CTV News London contacted the property manager, but have yet to receive a response. 

In an update, CTV News learned that power was fully restored to the building on Tuesday. 

Tenants at the Pearl Street apartment building said they received no explanation for the outage, or what allowed the lights to come back on Tuesday afternoon. 

Some tenants said they were without power for seven days in a row. 

Three units at 42 Pearl St. in St. Thomas, Ont. have been without power since Oct. 11, 2023 (Brent Lale/CTV News London)