When a century-old apartment building in Alexandria went up in flames on May 30, questions emerged among residents about building safety: Who is checking to see if buildings in the county are up to local fire-safety codes? Are proper smoke detectors and fire extinguishers maintained in apartment buildings? How is a building determined safe for occupancy — especially if it has a history of fires?
The answer is, those residents discovered, “It’s complicated.”
While the Licking County Code Department issues permits and ensures new commercial construction — manufacturing facilities, businesses and industrial plants such as Intel — is up to code in the county, it is not responsible for ensuring an existing building is up to code. That’s left to local municipalities, county officials say.
See also: Future uncertain for Alexandria residents, businesses displaced by fire in century-old building
“Once a commercial building is complete, then the local fire department is responsible for ensuring that a building is maintained in a safe manner,” said Licking County Code Department Building Code Administrator Troy Warnock. “Some local governments may also have property maintenance ordinances to ensure safe conditions of commercial and/or residential buildings, but those ordinances are enforced through the village or city that adopted the ordinance.”
There is no such countywide regulation for residential buildings, Warnock said.
Across Licking County, townships and communities approach building management, particularly of old buildings, with vastly different approaches.
Alexandria
At the Alexandria Village Council Meeting on June 4 — the first village council meeting following the May 30 apartment fire that displaced 11 villagers — council member Andrew Bottar-Dillen gave a presentation about code enforcement and requested that the village council hire an “Unsafe Building Inspector” (UBI).
Bottar-Dillen clarified that the Licking County Building Code Department is responsible for new construction, and the Licking County Health Department handles code enforcement related to water and sewer, but it is the village’s responsibility to inspect everything else.
Bottar-Dillen requested that the village combine the UBI role with the zoning inspector role — a position that has been vacant since May.
During the village’s July 30 council meeting, councilmembers appointed Jacob Brooks to fill both the zoning inspector and UBI roles.
According to Alexandria Village Ordinance 2007-06 section three, the village council can appoint a UBI for the village. The UBI would investigate reports of unsafe or unclean conditions in an already existing building. The inspector would then report to the Alexandria Village Council and the council would decide what action is needed if a violation is present.
The UBI position is similar to the approach from the city of Columbus, which hires code enforcement officers to respond to resident complaints and concerns about issues such as gas leaks, mold, bedbug infestations, plumbing issues, broken windows and other safety issues. In 2021, that Franklin County city’s code enforcement officers responded to nearly 39,000 complaints, according to a 2022 article from NBC4i.
St. Albans Township fire chief Michael Theisen said the department will check for fire code violations annually, upon request, and if there is a change in occupancy in commercial buildings in Alexandria and St. Albans Township.
See also: One month after Alexandria apartment fire, tenants return to retrieve belongings
The St. Albans Township Fire Department was a volunteer department less than 20 years ago, and a fire prevention program did not exist in the department. There is not currently a fire prevention person at the department because the township does not have enough money to fund that job.
St. Albans Township Fire Department does not have jurisdiction over residential buildings or apartments unless they are invited in. Buildings have to meet fire code requirements that match the code the year it received its initial permits.
“If a building is from 1973, I can only enforce 1973 fire code,” Theisen said. “If I had a building old enough, and sprinklers were not [a requirement] then, I can’t make them do that.”
Theisen said building codes have come a long way in ensuring residential safety since most of the buildings in Alexandria were constructed — meaning many of those buildings are not required to meet today’s codes.
Newark
Aaron Holman, the fire prevention officer for the City of Newark, follows the Ohio Fire Code to ensure that existing commercial properties are up to code. Newark Fire Prevention tries to inspect each business in Newark once a year to ensure they are up to fire code. Holman said they check for fire-prevention tools like sprinkler systems, fire alarms, fire-suppression systems in restaurants, and fire extinguishers, and that exit and emergency lights are working.
“[We are] just making sure that the overall property is going to be safe for the workers and guests, and if an emergency arises, that the person out here [from] the fire department is going to be safe,” Holman said.
Holman said that he checks only common spaces in apartment buildings, and he does not have jurisdiction to check someone’s residence. Holman said a building manager would be responsible for handling fire safety in an apartment. He is required to inspect someone’s home for fire safety only if it is for a foster or adoption situation.
Granville
The Granville Township Fire Department ensures the safety of the buildings in Granville village and township. However, non-commercial buildings and buildings that house three or fewer families are rarely inspected, although those residential properties can be inspected at the request of the owner.
Due to the privacy of the owners of the buildings, “the fire department does not have involvement during construction and/or after occupancy has been granted,” Chief Casey Curtis said.
Buildings with an occupancy larger than three families are examined annually by the department’s fire inspector. The fire chief or his delegate will perform all pre-occupancy inspections, inspect fire suppression systems, and conduct life safety inspections side by side with the county, Curtis said.
When a building is not up to the standard of the Ohio Fire Code, Curtis said, a violation is issued and the building owner must remediate the issue so it is up to code. Then, a re-inspection is conducted to ensure the building is up to fire code standards. A citation will be issued if the issue has not been resolved or addressed.
This story was updated at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31 to include additional information about inspections in Alexandria.
Caroline Zollinger and Andrew Theophilus write for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.