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EAST LIVERPOOL -- East Liverpool Fire Chief Antony Cumo announced that the East Liverpool Fire Department has issued a formal citation to owner of the St. Clair Garden Apartments, 707 St. Clair Ave., after conducting an extended fire and life-safety code inspection.
According to Cumo, an investigation was started after firefighters extinguishing a fire in one of the apartments discovered a nonfunctioning smoke alarm. The residents of the apartment were alerted to the fire by a child who heard the fire and woke up a parent.
A follow-up inspection resulted in the discovery of widespread issues throughout all 26 units, including hardwired smoke alarms that had been removed or replaced with non-compliant battery units, missing or expired fire extinguishers and exposed electrical wiring, Cumo said.
Cumo said there were repeated attempts to work with the property owner on voluntary compliance were unsuccessful, and the fire department sought and obtained a search warrant to complete a full inspection of all 26 units. He noted that 18 of the apartments were confirmed during the inspection to have non-operational smoke alarms and eight apartments with non-compliant alarms and other additional fire and electrical code violations throughout the buildings.
Cumo, coordinating with the Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office on July 22, was able to obtain a formal citation and order and issued 11 separate Ohio Fire Code violations. Cumo noted that the citations were sent certified mail, and they were signed and returned without a received date.
Cumo and the fire inspector drove to Alliance, and with assistance from the Alliance Police Department hand delivered the citations to the property owner on July 30.
Cumo noted that these citations carry a proposed civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, per day for any violation not corrected within 15 days.
"The department recognizes that in the days prior to the hand delivered citations, the property owner cleared overgrown vegetation and trimmed trees around the buildings; a positive first step," Cumo said. "The remaining violations, including smoke alarm restoration, fire extinguisher compliance and electrical repairs remain under the 15-day correction order. The East Liverpool Fire Department will continue to monitor the property for compliance and remains committed to the safety of every resident in that complex and our community.