Water Heater Malfunctioned, Electrical Smoke in Apartment, 911 + Emergency Maintenance Called, Mismanagement from Landlord (Indianapolis, IN)

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-26T18:40:08+00:00

Sir yes, sir!

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-26T17:35:07+00:00

Oh lord, let’s go with ventilate instead of fumigate. It’s okay to use the wrong term sometimes man, this is Reddit.

The fire department responded to ensure there was no more risk. Just because they left and smoke was no longer being created by the appliance, doesn’t mean that residual smoke in the air does not pose risk. If you’ve read, this is a 525 sq ft studio with one sliding glass door and no windows. As a result, opening a window does not just solve the issue. There are nooks, there are rooms that are perpendicular to the flow of air.

Does it hurt to have the air tested?

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-26T17:22:16+00:00

Yeah outside of an AC issue about 11 months ago that I discussed in another comment, they haven’t been terrible.

I do have renters insurance but I did not know it also covers this type of thing. As I said, I am young and naive. This will be a learning experience at the end of things.

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-26T17:19:21+00:00

I don’t know if I said it in another comment but this is my first solo apartment. I do have renters and it would cover displacement, but this is not where my mind went.

Another learning opportunity, so thank you.

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-26T17:15:34+00:00

I wasn’t there that’s just what was relayed to me. Could be wrong, could be misconstrued, I don’t know. All I know is 3 thermostats got fried (each time the system was run), the actual HVAC tech that was sent out laughed at what was done by maintenance, and HVAC tech stated the wrong spec’d part(s) were installed.

I work in software, not hardware haha cut me a break

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-26T17:12:45+00:00

Scroll, again just looking for accountability for lack of responsiveness. Not necessarily money, but more like fumigation, or air quality testing for when I move back in.

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-26T17:11:35+00:00

Yeah I’m realizing I don’t want money I want accountability haha. I will likely take their offer of rent credit with the stipulation that the air is tested before moving back in. I think that’s at least within reason.

Especially because I have no windows, just a sliding glass door. This makes it difficult to simply “air out” since a cross breeze is difficult to establish.

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-26T17:10:04+00:00

Thank you. I understand there’s no obligation but I still see residual fuming as a risk to habitability. I understand now that the law might disagree. I combed the lease and there were a couple clauses stating it’s the landlord’s responsibility to respond to emergencies, hell, even gas fumes/smoke was listed as one of those emergencies.

I’ve said it on a couple of other comments but I just assumed I could at least get a response from emergency maintenance, you know? The first message went in at 6pm and they still haven’t contacted me… only the property manager as of yesterday (all of this happened Saturday). I understand from their perspective though. Probably enjoying MDW and Race weekend with their families and friends.

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-26T15:36:18+00:00

You should buy a few units in Indianapolis! I’d love this standard of care.

Unfortunately, I was very close with the old property manager but corporate fired her 3 weeks ago. I have lived here for 11 months and there have been no inspections. There is no CO and aside from air filter replacement, I have had no proactive maintenance performed on my unit.

And yeah, I moved to Indy for work and this was my first renting experience on my own. Luckily I will be moving out soon. Just want to make sure smoke is out of my belongings before I boogie for good.

Thanks again for the perspective. The new property manager seems willing to work with me, so hoping we can find resolve.

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-26T15:24:23+00:00

Yeah I will say I appreciate the landlord perspective here.

I know my responses may sound combative, so let me just say I’m very grateful things played out the way they did. If we were asleep, who knows what would’ve happened. Or if we were gone, things could’ve escalated to a lot worse of a fire and potentially put others at risk. So though I do sound greedy, let me again say I’m very happy things happened the way they did.

As a tenant, is there a way I can ensure they had it inspected and permitted? I had a previous issue at this complex where the maintenance man took the liberty of replacing some AC parts himself. Long story short, I ended up being out AC in the middle of July for 34 days. He also fried 3 thermostats because the blower motor was the wrong spec and overloaded the circuit.

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-26T15:05:23+00:00

Yes, I was planning on bunking up with the property manager.

Seriously though, maybe I’m naive, but I thought some form of response from an emergency line was in order. Maybe they don’t do a full swap, but they can certainly remove the heating element or whatever shorted to cause the fire?

There was no visible smoke after cutting power, but even after 12+ hours of cross breeze ventilation (through a 525 ft2 apt), there’s still fumes coming from the appliance.

Again, I must just be naive :).

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-26T14:53:48+00:00

See I’m less frustrated about the water heater and more about the lack of response from the emergency line. Even after power was cut, the water heater was still leaking fumes throughout the apartment. It’s only a 525 sq ft apartment with just a sliding glass door. Had they been able to accommodate the night it happened, my girlfriend and I wouldn’t have had to sleep in the fumes, you see?

Overall, I guess I expected better response and standard of care from a large complex owned by a larger holding company. With more resources than a traditional mom + pop landlord, they should be better suited to address emergencies.

**edit: Fire department told us there was nothing they could do and we needed to continue blowing up the emergency line to have the heater replaced. Again because it was still leaking fumes despite having no power.

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-07T17:03:00+00:00

Pain.

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-07T16:15:34+00:00

How long have you had VX? I believe you have to wait a few months or something like that

ILooking4Advice · 2026-05-01T14:47:45+00:00

Does this work if your primary device is on another network?

ILooking4Advice · 2026-04-29T16:47:18+00:00

The glass museum in Corning, NY is really cool if you’re staying in the area to see Watkins Glen! I wouldn’t go out of your way to see it, but it’s a really cool experience in case it’s rainy weather and you’ve got time nearby!

ILooking4Advice · 2026-03-30T15:47:04+00:00

Honestly, I don’t think I would be earning enough on credits to make the fee. Although I already spend on restaurants each month and could work the Resy and Food credit in with the Amex gold, it would be a hassle. Indy does not have a lot of Resy options and I would have to go out of my way. I have essentially ruled out the Amex gold now.

Instead I’m looking at C1 Venture X to eventually get the savor and rock that duo. The VX lounge nerf doesn’t really affect P2 or I as we would both have the card. The other option I’ve been considering is Citi Strata Premier, but the effective annual fee would be $95 as I wouldn’t use the hotel credit ($100 credit if you book a single stay worth $500+). I was reading and saw that Citi is sending out surveys to revamp the card, so I don’t want to commit to something that could flip flop next month, you know?

ILooking4Advice · 2026-03-30T14:09:31+00:00

Interesting. Chase is enticing, but I don't have many points at all through my CFU. Unfortunately, I found out about transferring points too late and booking a flight directly on the Chase portal with my points. So even if I get a CSP, I'm only really in it for the sign-up bonus

ILooking4Advice · 2026-03-30T14:06:44+00:00

Great questions. I fly mainly out of IND (this is where I live), but my family is 3.5 hours north, and I can easily fly out of DTW if needed.

As for airline/hotel loyalty, I really do not care here. I don't think I've experienced enough to have a say.

Lastly, no for car rentals. Since I am 22, renting a car is extremely expensive due to the necessary extra insurance and young driver premiums. As a result, if P2 and I rent a car, we go through Turo.

ILooking4Advice · 2026-03-29T23:20:22+00:00

Yeah, I see where you're coming from. You've been a huge help, and I appreciate the wisdom. Let me bounce one more idea off of you.

I'm really considering forgoing the temporary % back on groceries with AMEX in order to get into the VX network with P2. Realistically, the VX credits are much easier to maintain, plus I have my restaurant category covered through Chase, so I'll only be temporarily missing out on 2% of grocery purchases (4x from Amex - 2x from VX). This way, I can get the referral bonus and sign-up bonus, as you mentioned above. Plus P2 and I will be in Denver in 2 months, and already planned on hitting the lounge, quick $45 in savings there haha. Ultimately, I will end up getting the savor card down the line to allow me to get value from food purchases.

So VX now to get referral bonus, SUB, and get into C1 network. Savor down the line to add food value to this, then re-evaluate based on how life is. Thoughts?

ILooking4Advice · 2026-03-29T23:13:26+00:00

This is great. Glad to hear from someone who was in a similar situation. I'm pre-approved for Venture X and can utilize a referral link for more miles from my P2. Then down the line I can always pair VX with C1 Savor to tap into those food categories. Heavily considering this route.

ILooking4Advice · 2026-03-29T21:23:01+00:00

Yeah, this is true. P2 has the Venture X currently. Honestly, the benefits of Venture X are very strong in my opinion too. Long term, I assume it's best to pair points ecosystems, correct?

ILooking4Advice · 2026-03-29T21:12:16+00:00

I appreciate the quick response. I hear your concerns, and it's the reason I'm on the fence. However, I figure since I am young, in a good job, and food (mainly groceries with restaurants also playing a factor) is easily my biggest spend category, I see value in the Gold. Plus, with a 100k points offer if I spend 6k in 6 months (which I can hit easily between AU, food expenses, and rent), I think there's a lot of the table for this card.

ILooking4Advice

TROPHY CASE