ORLANDO, Fla. — As long lines at the Orlando Social Security Office stretched into another day, one new Orlando resident says the situation he sees is getting dangerous.

Edward Gorman, who was waiting in line for a second day, said the line was at the end of the building when he arrived at 6:30 a.m. After waiting two hours on Tuesday, he was told to come back Wednesday.

The 35-year-old, who recently moved to Orlando, said he was in line because he lost his Social Security card on a flight home from New York. As a firefighter, he said the situation he sees outside the facility on Gatlin Avenue is a health and safety hazard.

“As an EMS provider, this is horrible,” Gorman said. “I feel bad because there’s elderly out here, there are children out here. It’s an unsafe situation.

"They tell us it’s a COVID related incident — I don’t understand how this is COVID-safe if you got people on top of each other, sweaty, breathing on each other.”

While officials with the agency said they would allow people to use their restrooms and water fountains, Gorman said he was told the opposite.

“If you ask a Social Security guard to use the restroom, they’ll look for an excuse not to let you use it,” he said. “They’ll either say the room is too full or there’s more than 20 people.”

The agency also said they would dedicate an employee to helping people outside, but Gorman said he didn't see much of that.

“Absolutely not," he said. "Security was walking up and down, here and there, and telling us to file an appointment online."

Gorman said he doesn’t understand why there isn’t a better system in place. In response to that kind of question, agency officials said they plan to transfer employees from neighboring offices to help speed up the line.

“I feel like there definitely should be more scheduling,” Gorman said. “You can schedule for the DMV, why can’t you schedule here?”

The agency continues to advise people to apply for benefits online or over the phone, and to use its drop boxes to drop off documents.

However, the issue for people like Gorman, who don’t have a copy of their Social Security card, is they would still need to wait in line.

The office opens Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but recently, the line has generally been cut off around 11 a.m.