Rights when dealing with a fire department

[cehart]

Massachusetts.

My mother owns a piece of property in the city of Lawrence, and one of her tenants called my father (a master electrician) due to electrical problems. He spent a couple of hours going through the property attic, finding a short circuit in some of the wiring (a squirrel had got into the attic and chewed through one of the lines), there was some smoking, and they pulled the unit ceiling down and removed the insulation from the area. At the time the insulation had irritated his lungs and he required medical attention, so he was forced to leave the premises, and told the tenant to call the fire department if anything else happened.

As it happens the local fire inspector despises my father, and when there turned out to be a second short circuit she did. The fire amounted to a small amount of smoke in the attic, and extensive roof and water damage done by the fire department. The fire department has informed my mother that they are not going to release the premises under any circumstances to allow her to secure the premises and have contractors go through to dry the premises and fix any mold damage. There is no legitimate reason for this as the only fire damage was the damage the fire department did to the property. There are no structural issues aside from the holes the fire department put in the roof, and the building's tenants are now unable to secure their belongings.

At this point, what is her recourse to get the fire department to be reasonable and allow her to start making repairs before mold sets in and gets the building condemned?

 

[Zigner]

It's not REASONABLE that the fire department red-tagged a building that obviously has multiple electrical issues that the owner is either unable or unwilling to fix?

I think the owner of the house needs to consider the fact that they are offering up a dwelling that is a deathtrap.

 

[cehart]

ummmm. Did you not read my question? The owner wants to get contractors into the building to fix the problems but the Fire Department has told her that they won't allow her to make repairs under any circumstances and will not under any circumstances allow her to get mold contractors in to repair the damage done by the fire department.

The question is, what recourse does a building owner have to get in to make repairs when the fire department is attempting to get the building condemned by letting it mold over.

 

[Zigner]

ummmm. Did you not read my question? The owner wants to get contractors into the building to fix the problems but the Fire Department has told her that they won't allow her to make repairs under any circumstances and will not under any circumstances allow her to get mold contractors in to repair the damage done by the fire department.

The question is, what recourse does a building owner have to get in to make repairs when the fire department is attempting to get the building condemned by letting it mold over.

I suspect there is more to this story than you are telling us. If your mother isn't allowed in to make repairs, then it stands to reason that NOBODY is allowed in, right?

 

[Silverplum]

Massachusetts.

My mother owns a piece of property in the city of Lawrence, and one of her tenants called my father (a master electrician) due to electrical problems. He spent a couple of hours going through the property attic, finding a short circuit in some of the wiring (a squirrel had got into the attic and chewed through one of the lines), there was some smoking, and they pulled the unit ceiling down and removed the insulation from the area. At the time the insulation had irritated his lungs and he required medical attention, so he was forced to leave the premises, and told the tenant to call the fire department if anything else happened.

As it happens the local fire inspector despises my father, and when there turned out to be a second short circuit she did. The fire amounted to a small amount of smoke in the attic, and extensive roof and water damage done by the fire department. The fire department has informed my mother that they are not going to release the premises under any circumstances to allow her to secure the premises and have contractors go through to dry the premises and fix any mold damage. There is no legitimate reason for this as the only fire damage was the damage the fire department did to the property. There are no structural issues aside from the holes the fire department put in the roof, and the building's tenants are now unable to secure their belongings.

At this point, what is her recourse to get the fire department to be reasonable and allow her to start making repairs before mold sets in and gets the building condemned?

Minding my Qs & Ps.

 

[Silverplum]

The FD is merely acting as the agent for your city's building safety ordinances. Fight city hall, if you must, but expect to lose.

 

[Zigner]

Just in case the OP missed it: Is EVERYBODY locked out of the house by the FD?

 

[cehart]

Yes, the city fire department has locked everyone out of the building. And I already told you the "more to the story". The city fire inspector, who was fired from his last job for incompetence, despises my father, and is doing this to my mother as revenge.

 

[Zigner]

Yes, the city fire department has locked everyone out of the building. And I already told you the "more to the story". The city fire inspector, who was fired from his last job for incompetence, despises my father, and is doing this to my mother as revenge.

Or it COULD be that he's doing his job, as required by the law. Mom needs to contact the FD and the city (as mentioned above). Mom CAN have a qualified contractor come in to assess what needs to be done to make the house compliant. Your dad is, apparently, not qualified for this.

 

[Silverplum]

Yes, the city fire department has locked everyone out of the building. And I already told you the "more to the story". The city fire inspector, who was fired from his last job for incompetence, despises my father, and is doing this to my mother as revenge.

Or, the place is a death trap slum.

Whichever is more likely.

 

[cehart]

Or it COULD be that he's doing his job, as required by the law. Mom needs to contact the FD and the city (as mentioned above). Mom CAN have a qualified contractor come in to assess what needs to be done to make the house compliant. Your dad is, apparently, not qualified for this.

No, he is a licensed master electrician, more than capable of handling the electrical work. But none of this is bloody relevant. Here is the problem, for 14,765th time. She needs the insurance adjustor to able to go through the property, so that he can determine the necessary repairs, and give his recommendations, but the fire inspector is refusing to allow qualified contractors onto the premises. The question is, what recourse does a landlord have when a fire department is actively preventing them from making necessary repairs.

I get it, you guys hate all landlords because they're all crooks. And if your only answer is going to be "In my completely unprofessional opinion it's a deathtrap that needs to be demolished" just pass on. Because the landlord in this case has four tenants that have resided in the building on a long term basis who need to get to their things and are all rather distressed about being forced out of their homes permanently.

 

[Silverplum]

No, he is a licensed master electrician, more than capable of handling the electrical work. But none of this is bloody relevant. Here is the problem, for 14,765th time. She needs the insurance adjustor to able to go through the property, so that he can determine the necessary repairs, and give his recommendations, but the fire inspector is refusing to allow qualified contractors onto the premises. The question is, what recourse does a landlord have when a fire department is actively preventing them from making necessary repairs.

I get it, you guys hate all landlords because they're all crooks. And if your only answer is going to be "In my completely unprofessional opinion it's a deathtrap that needs to be demolished" just pass on. Because the landlord in this case has four tenants that have resided in the building on a long term basis who need to get to their things and are all rather distressed about being forced out of their homes permanently.

I already told you: City Hall. They make the laws and ordinances.

We don't "hate all landlords." That's ridiculous.

 

[cehart]

"Or the place is a death trap slum"

Clearly reasonable. Ironically the very people whose lives have been wrecked by this disagree and I've had two of them in my office today crying because they don't want to move, but they probably don't have a choice in the matter.

 

[Silverplum]

"Or the place is a death trap slum"

Clearly reasonable. Ironically the very people whose lives have been wrecked by this disagree and I've had two of them in my office today crying because they don't want to move, but they probably don't have a choice in the matter.

They should be happy to not die in a fire.

 

[cehart]

They should be happy to not die in a fire.

There was a short circuit that came as the result of the third floor tenant overloading a circuit with an electric space heater. 90% of the damage was done by the fire department. But thanks for reaffirming your superiority by mocking people that lost their homes. Are there any actual lawyers here?

EDIT: It's now a moot point as state fire marshals cleared the building and told the fire department to release it. No doubt because they're evil that want people to die in "deathtrap slums".