Government Regulation Prevents Turning on Air Conditioning in Home for Elderly despite 94 degree weather

From Worcester, Massachusetts comes this story:

An ambulance was pulling out as I pulled into the parking lot of the Seabury Heights Apartments yesterday. It isn’t an infrequent sight at a housing complex for the elderly, but on a day like this when the temperature reached 94 degrees it tends to put a little edge on things.

The faint breeze that idled by as I exited the car was as soothing as a blast from an exhaust pipe. Still, it was welcome relief for the half dozen or so tenants sitting outside on benches or in their wheelchairs.

Inside one apartment building, on the first floor near the elevators, I ran into John M. Ford, a Fire Department captain and director of the city’s Emergency Management Team. Other city officials —one with the Board of Health and another from the Code Department — were touring the building.

They were there because the residents had called to complain that management was refusing to turn on the air conditioning, despite the high temperatures.

“It’s the perfect storm,” Mr. Ford said.

I didn’t ask him to explain. I figured he was talking about the combination of the heat, the frailties of the elderly and the inflexibility of state regulations that the heating system in housing for the elderly must remain operational until June 15. . . .