By TAMMIE TOLER
PRINCETON — Collapsing roofs, crumbling stairs, shattered windows and hazardous disregard to fire code provisions are not the tools of economic development and revitalization.
In business and residential buildings, Princeton Code Enforcement Director Bill Buzzo knows they could be the makings for a decaying downtown or a fatal disaster.
Buzzo, Building Inspector Dave Wilson and Princeton Fire Department’s three fire code inspectors are stepping up efforts to visit as many structures as possible and hold property owners accountable for keeping their buildings safe.
Pointing to a poster carrying 11 condemned or abandoned buildings — many with sagging ceilings, collapsing stairs and stacks of rubbish around every corner — Buzzo said they have been either condemned or voluntarily closed inside Princeton’s limits. One has since been demolished at the owner’s expense, leaving behind property prime for new development.
For inspectors, these structurally unsafe buildings on Mercer, North Walker and Brick streets represent the repairs needed inside Princeton. In some cases, demolition may be the only answer.
“They don’t represent a positive. What is it? It’s a liability,” Buzzo said. “What can we do? We can inspect.”
That theory, along with a $7,500 community participation grant for the demolition program, has prompted the building and fire code inspectors to aggressively address problem areas inside Princeton. The fire department’s three inspectors have added an extra eight-hour day to their work weeks, allowing them the freedom to dedicate themselves to inspections while other firefighters run emergency calls.
The building code inspectors are concerned primarily with the structural integrity and strength of the building, while the fire inspectors focus on the measures required to stem the chances of fire, protect occupants in the event of a blaze and preserve firefighter safety, should they have to enter the building to put out flames.
Sometimes, the two areas overlap, such as in the case of electrical wiring. Deficiencies there could be considered a building issue or a fire hazard.
“We’re focusing predominantly on Mercer Street, because of the potential loss of life and public safety issues there,” PFD Chief Shawn Vest said.
Wednesday, PFD inspector and firefighter Keith Gunnoe was out and about in that area, checking on the progress inside a Mercer Street apartment building. It did not meet National Fire Protection Association’s Life Safety Code, which outlines safety requirements for buildings of various forms of occupancy.
Each structure is classified based upon its intended purpose. An apartment building is solely a residential structure, while a building that includes a business on the bottom and apartments on top is considered a dual-occupancy building, Gunnoe said. In such an instance, the fire code requirements would be different for the business portion of the building and the residential area, and at least a 2-hour fire rating is mandated between the business ceiling and the residential floor.
“The fire code wants to be sure that the folks living in the building have a certain level of protection in the event of a fire or a smoky event,” he said.
The apartment building was condemned at one time, due to fire code violations, Gunnoe explained, pointing out problems with some of the apartment doors, the absence of panic bars on the rear exit and other potential safety hazards. The owner of that building had a team hard at work Wednesday to correct the problems and open the business for tenants again.
When property owners are willing to tackle their problems efficiently, Gunnoe said inspectors often give them the time and leeway necessary to complete the renovations in a responsible manner. Once owners receive notice that their building is in violation of fire code and presents a danger, Gunnoe said they typically get 30 days to correct minor repairs.
More serious projects will obviously take longer, and Gunnoe said inspectors will work with them to create a plan of correction and a practical timeline for the repairs. They only fine the owner after he or she fails to comply with that plan within a reasonable amount of time, he said.
“When we come into a building, we’re really here to help you through the process and not be a hindrance,” Gunnoe said. “A lot of the owners don’t understand this, but we could save them a lot on liability issues, in the event of a fire or other accident.”
A few blocks away from the apartment building, a vacant business and residential building on Mercer Street stood in extreme disrepair. From the front, the building looked stable this week. The back offered a different view.
The floor of a second-floor apartment porch had collapsed. A stairway that apparently once led from the top floor to the ground level dropped off dead between the two stories. A hole gaped in the floor directly in front of the back door, and alcohol bottles littered a back addition area.
“Structurally, this building is a nightmare,” Gunnoe said.
Pointing to the breaker box and exposed wiring in the back, he explained that the building could have been shut down for electrical code violations alone.
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that even if your building is vacant, it still has to be secured,” Gunnoe said. “There are still kids who could get into it and get into an accident, and a problem we’re seeing more of in the cooler weather is vagrants getting inside for shelter.”
Like the firefighters, Buzzo said his department stands willing to work with property owners who have a plan of correction and the means to accomplish their goals. But, if they don’t respond to city communications, he is also ready to proceed with some demolition projects to preserve citizen safety.
“We don’t think, in the city, that buildings should just be abandoned and closed,” Buzzo said, adding that the structures should either be restored or torn down to create property that could benefit the community.
“That’s economic development,” he said.
City Manager Wayne Shumate told the City Council’s Public Safety Committee last week that the inspection program has already proven beneficial, since the reviews have prompted some property owners to begin work on their buildings on their own.
“I think this process will continue,” he said, anticipating the program will improve city appearance and serve property owners well by saving them “huge liability.”
For property owners with compliant buildings now, Gunnoe advised that they keep the structures that way.
“For property owners, maintenance is the biggest thing. If you can keep it in good shape as you go along, you’re going to save a lot in the long run,” he said.
The city hasn’t exempted its properties. Officials reported that city-owned structures have been inspected alongside private properties. The Princeton Recreation Center and the Fred Gilbert Activity Center/Planet Xtreme Teen Center are among the city-owned buildings that have been examined.
For more information, contact the Princeton Code Enforcement Department at (304) 487-5022 or Princeton Fire Department at (304) 487-5017.
— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.
