One year after the deadliest fire in Maine, Portland has made major changes in their approach in housing safety.
According to bangordailynews.com, the cause of fire was accidental but high death toll was due to poor home safety standards which includes "non- functioning smoke detectors and a blocked second exit that left the victims unable to escape."
Portland Assistant Fire Chief Keith Gautreau said "That was a once in a hundred year fire, really if you think of it that way."
The landlord of the two family homes that got burned, Gregory Nisbet, was charged with "six counts of manslaughter and misdemeanor code violations."
Since the night of the accident, Portland Fire Department has been conducting home inspections and work with courts to implement laws and punish violations. Gautreau said that they are looking for different components that can make a property adhere to home standards. He said that they usually look for "two ways out of any unit on the second floor or higher, a smoke detector inside every bedroom and the room just outside of them, and metal fire-rated doors that self-close."
"It's been a shock to a lot of landlords, this summons process, but it has been effective," he said.
Before the Noyes Street fire, Gautreau's department has been inspecting buildings with three or more rental units but since of the fire, the city's inspection program became more proactive and don't rely on complaints only.
In a report by wgme.com, Housing Safety Administrator Art Howe said "We'll rate properties by essentially risk assessment or matrix, if you will, and deal with higher risk properties first."
The city will also hire three new inspectors which will be paid partly by the landlords. The landlords will have to pay $35 per unit but they will get discounts if they have installed sprinklers or implemented no smoking policies on their property as part of fore safety practices. Also, the city will develop a database where residents can look up previous violation records of the city's properties.
What are your thoughts about Portland's new housing fire safety practices? Sound it in the comments!
