Public housing tenants left in the cold amid gas heater fears
Sitting alone in his flat, wrapped in blankets and his dressing gown on one of the coldest days of the year, Albert Rizk is despairing.
The chronically ill 67-year-old is unable to turn on his heater after a letter sent to him in March showed he was one of 6525 Victorian public housing tenants potentially at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning from faulty Vulcan and Pyrox Heritage gas heaters in their properties.
The letter from the housing department tells residents to not use the heaters until they undergo a safety inspection, and that they are eligible for a temporary heater.
A further 47,000 public housing residents with different gas heaters have been sent precautionary letters telling them they'll also receive a safety check.
Though the Department of Health and Human Services says it is working at "full capacity" to get to all affected properties, many residents like Mr Rizk are finding the wait too long.
Mr Rizk, who lives alone in his Princes Hill flat, said he struggled to read the initial warning letter because he is visually impaired, then missed the delivery of his replacement heater this week because he was in hospital.
"I ask them to call and make sure I am home but they don't call," he said.
"Now they say soon but God knows when is soon - it already took more than a month.
"It's very bad, the cold. I sit in bed, I cover myself - what else can I do?"
Mr Rizk's neighbour Farhiya Jama has been helping him make sense of the process but said she has had her own issues with the situation.
"We got one replacement heater but I have two kids and it's still a struggle to heat and move the heater between rooms," she said.
"We are not sure what is actually happening, when they plan to replace things properly or how long it will be."
Sami Abdullahi, who lives in the same public housing estate, said he didn't realise he was eligible for a temporary heater so he and his wife had bought two portable heaters immediately after receiving the letter to make sure their two-year-old son didn't feel the cold.
Mr Abdullahi said he had heard nothing further from the department in the two months since he received his warning letter.
"It's getting cold so I hope our check is soon," he said.
Many residents said they were growing more concerned as the weather worsened about the time it was taking to conduct the safety checks. This week an icy snap gripped the state, with Thursday the coldest day since last September and Friday Melbourne's wettest May day in six years.
Friends of Public Housing Victoria spokeswoman Fiona Ross said it was "a very serious problem". "We've got people who have turned their heaters off and are just waiting," she said.
Ms Ross said she feared many residents may not have understood the letters, which were printed in English with translation advice on the back.
"With the cold weather suddenly upon us, we are concerned that many public tenants, especially from migrant backgrounds, might unwittingly use these heaters, unaware of the dangers," she said.
Some residents who have have already received temporary heaters said they were more expensive to run and did an inferior job.
"The heater they supplied was rubbish," tenant Pamela Judd said. "It would have been OK if my lounge was as big as my bathroom."
A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said the process was "not a small task".
"Given the number of heaters, (it) will take some time to address."
"The department is taking action and our priority is in testing and servicing all the 6525 Vulcan/Pyrox heaters that are known to be in public housing properties."
The department said it had hired additional gas plumbers and its contractors were working at full capacity testing an average of 36 heaters a day. So far, nearly 20 per cent of heaters have been tested and serviced.
"Where a heater fails the carbon monoxide test, it is disconnected and the tenant is provided with temporary heating," the spokesperson said.
"Eventually all the heaters will be replaced but the priority is for those that fail the test."
The department said it had purchased 1500 temporary heaters and ordered a further 2500. A process to assist residents with the increase in electricity bills was being developed, it said.
Several hours after being contacted by The Age about Mr Rizk’s case, a department spokesperson said a temporary heater would be delivered to him on Friday evening. ‘‘He has been advised and confirmed he will be at home.
‘‘Our priority is about the safety of our tenants and we apologise if Mr Rizk has had problems navigating this process.’’
A Victorian Public Tenants Association spokeswoman said the organisation had "been given assurances by the housing department that they are trying to roll this out as fast as possible".
The issue is not just affecting public housing as the once-popular heaters are installed in many private properties.
A Real Estate Institute of Victoria spokesman said property management teams across the state were contacting landlords to encourage them to get the heaters serviced.
Energy Safe Victoria urged anyone with a Pyrox or Vulcan Heritage gas heater to arrange a safety test on the units.
The warnings come amid an investigation by the Coroner into the death of Melbourne woman Sonia Sofianopoulos who died in her Greensborough public housing unit from carbon monoxide poisoning last year.