The Melrose Housing Authority (MHA) Board of Commissioners moved to declare a health emergency at a special Monday night meeting in response to an infestation of bed bugs at the MHA's C. J. McCarthy Apartments.

The commissioners said an emergency declaration was necessary to get a waiver for state procurement rules, and to hire an extermination company called Pure Heat.

MHA Executive Director Ann St. Pierre presented her report to the board Monday in requesting the emergency declaration. 

St. Pierre told the board that this is the first reported instance of bed bugs at the senior housing complex on Main Street, which has 150 units reserved for senior and disabled residents.

But some residents of the apartments quietly said the MHA waited too long to handle the outbreak of bed bugs, which was first reported by a resident on Friday, July 30.

Those details were corroborated by attorney John Grecko, who is representing the MHA and acting as a spokesman. 

Grecko told Melrose Patch in a phone interview that a resident had reported bed bugs to St. Pierre on a Friday, when she was leaving for the weekend.

According to Grecko, on Aug. 2, the following Monday, St. Pierre began making calls about bed bugs. On Aug. 4, that Wednesday, she called a meeting and asked for assistance.

St. Pierre said she had notified residents about the bed bug infestation in a letter to all residents. She had a meeting about the bed bug problem on Friday, Aug. 20 that was attended by about 60-70 residents, according to Grecko.

Grecko said the first incidence of bed bugs found at the McCarty Apartments was a bug-ridden couch that a maintenance person threw away without notifying St. Pierre.

"He didn't do it right, he should have told somebody," Grecko said.

One resident whose apartment was infested called a private exterminator service, Grecko said.

Housing commissioners praise response, but residents upset

MHA commissioners said Monday night that they were impressed by the MHA staff's response to the outbreak. Commissioner Theodore Xiarhos praised Mayor Rob Dolan for his involvement in taking action.

But residents of the apartment complex said they are angry about the response by St. Pierre and authorities.

Cynthia Olsen told Melrose Patch before the meeting Monday night that she and other McCarthy residents were "furious," and that there was "rage" about the bed bugs and also concerns among residents about which apartments need to be treated.

One elderly resident was found with bed bug bites "all over her body," Olsen said.

St. Pierre submitted to the board of commissioners a report from a health inspector that found an infested mattress "with large amounts of blood spots." 

At the meeting, St. Pierre said the Mayor is offering financial assistance to pay for the firefighters needed to stand by on so-called "fire details" while the high-heat exterminations are done.

The cost of the exterminator company, Pure Heat, the fire details, and a company to disconnect sprinklers and heat detectors, will deplete the MHA's reserves.

The total cost will be approximately $100,000, St. Pierre said.

The MHA will be seeking state assistance to cover some of the cost.

The extermination process, which is costing $56,000, involves piping hot air through the windows up to the third floor, and using space heaters in higher floors, to heat the infested rooms. At a high enough temperature, the bed bugs and their eggs die. 

Residents encouraged to stay with friends or family during extermination process

St. Pierre said the residents whose apartments are heat treated will need to evacuate their apartment's for a full 24 hours.

She said those residents would be encouraged to stay with friends or family, or use a hotel as a last resort.

"People are concerned and ask about what units need it," St. Pierre told the board. "And I referred them to the company, the experts, and they say it's not necessary to treat all of the rooms."

A company called American K9 will be used to detect infested apartments using trained dogs, and those rooms will be treated. Adjacent apartments will only be treated if the shared wall is found to be infested.

In the meantime, St. Pierre is telling residents to keep their clothes clean and dried, because the heat of the dryer kills any bed bugs on clothing.

The MHA is supplying plastic bags to residents to keep non-infested clothing in, she said.

St. Pierre said the Pure Heat solution is the only viable option, based on conversations she had with housing authority officials.

Commissioner Mary Lee Porter said at the meeting that "heat is the only way to go."

Commissioner Frank Giso said any other apartments aside from those detected by the dogs, if they then are found to have an infestation, "we will address that."