L
Little5er
Guest
I live in an older apartment complex in Alexandria-- Lynbrook at Mark Center, to be exact-- and the other night experienced something that made me question the safety of the building.
After a small fire in an apartment below us (that lead to much greater amounts of smoke!), I realized there were no fire alarms in the hallways-- which struck me as odd, considering there are at least nine different apartments sharing three different floors, all connected by this community hallway.
I was lucky, because the fire was basically under control, and I was able to detect the smoke early (sitting right inside our door). But I started thinking that if the fire had occured at night, when my roommate and I were sleeping at the far end of the apartment, neither of us-- nor the fire alarm above our bedrooms, I doubt-- would have detected the smoke. And, should the fire actually be threatening, it might have been too late to get out once we realized what was happening.
So-- getting on one of my Erin Brockovich kicks-- I spoke to some different people in the fire department the next day, only to find that if the building is so many years old, chances are it was constructed under different (and more lax) fire safety codes that are severely outdated now. The only way the owners can be forced to update their safety systems to today's standards is if they were to undergo a major renovation.
I couldn't believe this-- it was unfathomable to me that, under Virginia State Law, older buildings can basically be ignored as far as safety goes. And even worse, that there would have to be an entire renovation for the older systems to be updated to today's safety standards.
I realize that by putting in an entire fire alarm system-- having to re-wire buildings and drill through walls, or whatever it would take-- would be very costly and time consuming. But something as simple as going out and buying $8 individual fire alarms and hanging them in each hallway on every floor would probably suffice. Until someone can force the management to do something, though, the fact remains that residents of this building ARE NOT SAFE under these outdated safety codes. And isn't the point of law to protect people?
I don't know what steps I can take from here. I dread the thought of having to try and change the law to put something better into effect... are there any loopholes somewhere in the legal system that would override the current requirements? It seems that somewhere, something would address the basic safety of tenants-- and if that is at risk at all, then measures to ensure that safety would preside over anything else.
Please let me know what I can do... I have to admit, since this incident it's been a lot harder to fall alseep at night, knowing I could wake up to an apartment in flames that we had no appropriate warning about.
Thank you for your time.
After a small fire in an apartment below us (that lead to much greater amounts of smoke!), I realized there were no fire alarms in the hallways-- which struck me as odd, considering there are at least nine different apartments sharing three different floors, all connected by this community hallway.
I was lucky, because the fire was basically under control, and I was able to detect the smoke early (sitting right inside our door). But I started thinking that if the fire had occured at night, when my roommate and I were sleeping at the far end of the apartment, neither of us-- nor the fire alarm above our bedrooms, I doubt-- would have detected the smoke. And, should the fire actually be threatening, it might have been too late to get out once we realized what was happening.
So-- getting on one of my Erin Brockovich kicks-- I spoke to some different people in the fire department the next day, only to find that if the building is so many years old, chances are it was constructed under different (and more lax) fire safety codes that are severely outdated now. The only way the owners can be forced to update their safety systems to today's standards is if they were to undergo a major renovation.
I couldn't believe this-- it was unfathomable to me that, under Virginia State Law, older buildings can basically be ignored as far as safety goes. And even worse, that there would have to be an entire renovation for the older systems to be updated to today's safety standards.
I realize that by putting in an entire fire alarm system-- having to re-wire buildings and drill through walls, or whatever it would take-- would be very costly and time consuming. But something as simple as going out and buying $8 individual fire alarms and hanging them in each hallway on every floor would probably suffice. Until someone can force the management to do something, though, the fact remains that residents of this building ARE NOT SAFE under these outdated safety codes. And isn't the point of law to protect people?
I don't know what steps I can take from here. I dread the thought of having to try and change the law to put something better into effect... are there any loopholes somewhere in the legal system that would override the current requirements? It seems that somewhere, something would address the basic safety of tenants-- and if that is at risk at all, then measures to ensure that safety would preside over anything else.
Please let me know what I can do... I have to admit, since this incident it's been a lot harder to fall alseep at night, knowing I could wake up to an apartment in flames that we had no appropriate warning about.
Thank you for your time.