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Paterson health employees deal with excessive heat problem | Paterson Times

Paterson health employees deal with excessive heat problem

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The temperature inside the Division of Health exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday morning forcing some employees to go in and out of the building for relief.

Public works employees from the Facilities Division were at the building on the corner of Broadway and Memorial Drive to resolve the problem, according to the mayor’s office. A public works supervisor said two boilers were shut off to correct the excessive heat issue. However, it will take “half a day” for normal temperature to be restored at the building.

The building has a complex heating system that has different zones, according to the public works supervisor. It also relies on two sources of heat — air and baseboard. Public works employees have been regulating temperature at the building by turning on two boilers when it’s too cold and turning them off when it’s too hot. The two boilers were turned on earlier in the month when temperatures fell in the negatives.

It’s not clear what’s the main culprit behind the excessive heat problem at the building.

The heating system inside the building is 12-year-old which is relatively new compared to other municipal buildings, according to officials.

About 60 employees work out of the Division of Health building. The union for the employees did not respond to a call for comment.

One area that did not experience the excessive heat problem was the former lab space that was rented out to a nonprofit group last year. When city officials were considering renting the space, some pointed out that was the only part of the building that was temperature controlled.

Health and human services director Donna Nelson-Ivy, who works out of a separate building, did not return a call for comment for this report.

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