Firefighters work to cool down Sharpstown residents on fifth day without power

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston firefighters took some unusual steps Monday evening to cool down tenants at a Sharpstown apartment complex who say they're on their fifth day without power.

Firefighters said they were called to the Falls of West Point apartments on Parkfront Drive around 6 p.m. to treat two people for heat exhaustion.

The Houston Fire Department said roughly a quarter of the apartment complex has been without power since Thursday morning.

Firefighters shut down a portion of Parkfront Drive and used a fire hose to create a makeshift water park for the complex's children.

They also later brought in METRO buses to act as cooling stations.

"The times when you do get to help somebody, that's the part of the job that feeds the soul," HFD Deputy Chief Mohammad Koochack said.

CenterPoint told Eyewitness News its crews responded to the complex three times in the last week and determined there were no issues with the company's equipment, and that property owners need to make repairs on their end before power can be restored.

ABC13 was unable to reach property managers on the Labor Day holiday, although the leasing office was covered in handmade signs left by frustrated residents.

"Very miserable. It's very hot, and no one can be sleeping," Jairo Martinez said of the conditions inside his apartment. "You have kids crying all night, all day about the heat."

Sonya Ixtos and her five children said they're also suffering.

"You're sweating, and their faces turn red, and all you can do is take showers to cool down, and you can't really do that, and the deep freezer's already thawed out," Ixtos said.

Andres Olmedo said he purchased a generator to power fans for him and his children but said the temperature continues to hover around 100 degrees.

Firefighters said they reached apartment managers late Monday and were told that a piece of electrical equipment would be replaced Tuesday morning.