ORLANDO, Fla. – Dozens of tenants at a hotel located in the heart of the Orlando tourist district have been notified that they must vacate the property by Monday due to safety concerns, city officials said.
According to Orlando city officials, code enforcement officers became aware last week that water service from OUC might be discontinued due to non-payment by the owners of the Howard Johnson at 5858 International Drive.
The city said code enforcement and the Orlando Fire Department immediately responded and determined that the fire alarms in the building were not functioning properly, creating a safety issue.
According to a statement from the city, the issue required the presence of a “fire watch,” a safety official who remains on site to monitor for fire hazards while the system is out of service. The city said a fire watch will remain on site through Monday.
The hotel owner and OUC agreed to temporarily restore service to the building, according to the city.
The tenants were notified, however, that they must vacate the premises by 10 a.m. Monday.
The city said about 40 people will require assistance.
[RELATED: Extended stay hotel housing homeless vets in Orange County]
News 6 visited the property Thursday, where Orlando police officers and representatives from the Coalition for the Homeless, the Christian Service Center, and the Healthcare Center for the Homeless talked to the tenants who faced an uncertain future.
“It’s like losing everything we own,” said Travis Wieand, who has lived with his wife at the Howard Johnson since February. “When we do gotta leave, we’re taking us and our dogs. And we’re leaving everything there. We have no way to carry it.”
The tension in the parking lot was as high as the temperature on Thursday.
“Everybody just found out we have to leave,” said Maria Reyes. “We’re like, ‘What the f***?”
Reyes said she was concerned about the next step, which will involve finding a place to live while caring for her wife, who is ill.
“I have to deal with her being sick,” Reyes said, as she began to cry. “It’s bull****. Because they don’t give a f***.”
[RELATED: Beds, laws, lawsuits: The math of homelessness in Central Florida]
Trinette Nation, the director of development at the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida, said the service providers are working in concert to ensure every person affected has a roof over their head.
“We have four rooms on our campus specific to our community outreach program that will house them until we can either find them safe, stable housing or we have a bed that becomes available,” Nation said.
News 6 has identified the owner of the property as RORE Orlando I Drive LLC, but we could not locate a phone number for the business.
Several tenants did identify for News 6 a man who appeared to be conferring with police at the property on Thursday. They told News 6 that he is the property manager.
When News 6’s Orlando Community Correspondent Mike Valente approached the man, however, he refuted their claims that he worked there.
Not long after that interaction, though, he approached the News 6 crew with an Orlando police sergeant. The sergeant said that the man was authorized on behalf of the owner to request that News 6 vacate the property.