Unit to pump cool air into jail

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - It's been a brutal few days for those at the Erie County Holding Center, because five floors have been without air conditioning on the hottest days of the summer.

A special tractor-trailer refrigerator unit is on its way to Buffalo from Chicago, to pump cool air into the Holding Center.

Friday morning the Public Works Department began retro-fitting connectors to the duct system, so inmates and staff will get some relief.

A new system will eventually be installed, but that can take two weeks. The cost will be $331,000.

The contractor, Gerster Trane of Buffalo, is now at the site.

Erie County Executive Chris Collins as issued an emergency declaration to avoid a lengthy bidding process.

Inside the Holding Center one reported sighting of a temperature reading was 104.4 degrees at the height of heat spell. The County Executive's Office claims at no time was the reading over 86 degrees inside.

The Teamsters Union has been critical of the way this is being handled, saying Sheriff's Deputies are working double shifts in the heat.

Tom Dziedzic of Teamsters Local 264 said, “When you have to work in those conditions, 95-105 degrees for 16 hours. I just left the jail a few hours ago and I talked to some of my people over there, there are stewards, and there isn't even an attempt to rotate in and out of the hot affected areas.”

Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard said, “I am embarrassed that we had staff that is complaining about something that is no one's fault and would rather go to the media and cry about something than to address it with the appropriate people."