Tamarac

NBC6 Responds to Families Left in the Dark for More Than a Month

Meryl and Jonathan Raff say they’ve been forced to live out of their suitcases at hotels for the last five weeks.

"We’ve maxed out our credit cards. We are almost out of money," said Jonathan Raff.

The Raff’s and seven other neighbors have had no electricity in their Tamarac condo building since Good Friday. That’s when a company installing a new fiber optics line accidentally damaged equipment supplying power to their building in the Belfort Community.

"It’s horrible, it’s horrible. And if you stay here long enough the sweat just drips down you," said Meryl Raff.

Since that day, the people living in the condo have seen workers installing new equipment. But still the power isn’t back on.

"Either they don’t know what the hell they’re doing – but they’re not fixing it,"said resident Charles Gorn.

Many of the people who live in the community are 55 years and older. They say the added expense has been difficult.

"The majority of us are on a fixed income," said neighbor Scott Kuntz. "My check was gone in two days. Nobody wants to take responsibility."

A City of Tamarac spokesperson told NBC 6 the contractor hired by the home owners association to fix the problem, "didn’t move as swiftly and smartly as they could have" - ordering the wrong equipment, then applying for the wrong permit.

After NBC 6 Responds made several calls, the city said their inspector would approve Florida Power and Light to put in a temporary line to restore power, while crews hired by the association work on a permanent fix.

And, to the relief of the people living in Belfort, their electricity was restored Wednesday evening.

"You people were the only ones who wanted to respond and help us," said Jonathan Raff.

Meantime, the company in charge of installing the fiber optic lines said a subcontractor caused the damage. That company donated $500 to each family in order to help with their expenses.

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