Elderly Bay City man freezes to death

BAY CITY (WJRT) -- (01/26/09)--An elderly Bay City man has frozen to death inside of his home.

The body of 93-year-old Marvin Schur was found just four days after the city's electric company placed a device on his meter limiting the amount electricity he could use.

Schur lived in the 1600 Block of S. Chilson Avenue on Bay City's southwest side.

According to Bay City's city manager, he was four months behind on his electric bill. That equals out to about $1,000.

Also, according to Bay City's city manager, he had thousands of dollars in cash in his home, set aside with specific bills to pay.

The device on his meter -- a limiter -- was placed there to restrict the flow of electricity into his home.

The purpose: To get people to pay their bill or at least make contact with city officials.

It appears he was heating his home or trying to heat his home with his electric stove.

The limiter was tripped, and typically in that situation, you would just reset it and the system would work again.

It's unclear if Schur even knew his usage was restricted.

Bay City's city manager says a notice is placed on a door on your home to alert you a limiter has been installed.

Schur's tag was apparently still on his front door when his body was found. The temperature inside his home was between 30 and 35 degrees.

"He had a furnace that was installed or inspected in 2005, so we do have preliminary information that he did have a heat source in the house," said City Manager Robert Belleman.

"And that heat source would have been working with a limiter."

His wife is deceased. They had no children. It's unclear if anyone was checking up on him.

The official cause of death from the medical examiner was hypothermia.

The tragic death has prompted city officials including Bay City Electric Light and Power to re-evaluate and improve current electricity policies.

The community and leaders weighed in at Monday night's city commission meeting.

The city has used so-called limiters for more than 18 years and has never had a problem -- until now.

Schur's death weighs heavy on the minds at City Hall.

"It took my breath away," said Mayor Charles Brunner. "As the chief officer of Bay City, you certainly feel a level of responsibility."

Since learning about his death, Bay City Electric Light and Power Director Philip Newton has been searching for ways to make sure this never happens again.

"We are looking at this very hard to see we could possibly have avoided this. So far we are having a hard time finding good answers," he said.

Newton says the city has installed as many as 70 limiters on residents' homes. That's three times more than last year.

The city doesn't have access to customer age or financial history, but admits their communication methods need to be improved.

"We are looking at our Web site and possibly doing an automated phone message," Newton said. "We obviously need to get the word out. We are ready to help the customer."

South-side resident John Tennent doesn't want to hear excuses.

"This is sad, that there was no adequate contact made with this person," he said. "What's going to be done immediately to make contact with folks who could also be in jeopardy?"

"I guarantee we will do everything to avoid something like this again," Brunner said.

Bay City has delivered 200 shutoff notices to its customers.

Leaders are encouraging everyone: If you have a concern for yourself or others, please notify Bay City Electric Light and Power.

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