'This heat can kill': Hitchcock Police Department chief champions for A/C repairs in Galveston Co.

GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Residents in Galveston County who are living without air conditioning are so desperate they are rigging their apartments to stay cool, and now they have a new ally - Hitchcock Police Chief Wilmon Smith.

"My concern is the public safety concern. It should not take someone becoming a heat casualty to get the attention of the management here," Smith said, speaking in front of the management office at the Independent Missionary Village Apartments at 6607 Prino Road.

"This heat can kill," he said.

RELATED: Great-grandparents 'literally staying inside an oven' die after their Baytown home's A/C fails

Smith said there are at least six apartments without air conditioning. Some residents told ABC13 it's been down for weeks. The high temperature in Hitchcock was 95 degrees on Thursday, with a heat index of 106 degrees.

To cope, Walter Chapman is running fans. He bought a portable A/C unit at a pawn shop and hung a blanket as a barrier to help keep the cooler air in the bedrooms where his 1-year-old daughter spends most of her time.

He says he feels ignored.

"How can you brush this off to the side? Because too much heat can kill a person," Chapman said.

Chief Smith said he made calls earlier in the week and sent a letter on Thursday to apartment management pleading with them to either make repairs or find other solutions.

"Why not provide them accommodations? Why should it be on them (residents) to provide the accommodations while they get their act together?' Smith asked, referring to hotel vouchers.

RELATED: Extreme heat impacts your AC unit's ability to keep your home cool, technicians say

A person in the leasing office referred questions to a corporate email address. A spokesperson for Royal American Management responded.

"We are aware of the air conditioning issue at Independent Missionary Village. We ordered the necessary parts to make repairs, and we have provided window ac units for residents who are without air conditioning," wrote Amy Ausley, vice president of Business Development and Communications. "The central AC should be repaired by Friday, Saturday at the latest."

Chief Smith said he got involved to help people who might feel powerless.

Walter Chapman said he wants to feel comfortable again in his own home.

RELATED: How extreme heat disproportionately impacts low-income families and communities of color in Houston

For more on this story, follow Jessica Willey on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.