Fire Code

How long should it take to force an apartment manager to provide enough fire extinguishers? Or to make a bar owner unlock fire exits?Under Anne Arundel County's near-ancient fire code, the process can take months.First, the fire inspector drives out to one of the 10,000 widely scattered buildings that the county inspects.He finds a violation and orders the building owner to correct it by such-and-such a date.Such-and-such a date arrives, the inspector goes back to re-check, and, lo and behold, still no fire extinguishers.

When a fire broke out at a Canton warehouse April 22 and firefighters confirmed there were dangerous chemicals inside the building, it spawned some basic questions for reporters. What sorts of chemicals were present, and what risks do they pose? Did they cause any harm to people, animals or the environment? Officials with the fire department and Maryland Department of the Environment were forthcoming, explaining that powerful acids were stored in the warehouse for use in anodizing metals.

A county fire inspector cited Crofton Middle School Tuesday for violating the state fire code because strobe lights attached to fire alarms to warn deaf students of danger were not working.Firefighters called to the school because of a natural gas leak issued the citation and a repair order on the spot, Battalion Chief Martin P. Pardoe said yesterday. School officials said they did not know whether the lights had been repaired yesterday.Fire inspectors opened an investigation into the school's evacuation procedures Tuesday after students took longer than six minutes to get out of the building.

COLLEGE PARK -- A University of Maryland student about to begin his last college semester died in a fire in his off-campus basement apartment early yesterday morning, trapped inside a building that fire officials said had been cited for being unsafe. David Ellis, a 22-year-old senior majoring in American studies, was taken from his bedroom, where he was found unconscious and not breathing by firefighters. He was rushed to Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, where he was pronounced dead, said Mark E. Brady, spokesman for the Prince George's County Fire Department.

A deputy state fire marshal identified several minor code violations during an inspection of Sykesville Middle School on April 5, according to a report released Wednesday."

The development company run by David F. Tufaro, Baltimore's Republican candidate for mayor, received notices of violation in 1995 for failing to obey fire codes in the construction of three apartment complexes in the Richmond, Va., area, one of which was substantially damaged in a fire that year.According to reports from fire departments in Virginia, the code violations were discovered during a rare regional investigation prompted by the blaze at Old Buckingham Station Apartments in Midlothian.

State environmental officials said they won't be able to determine whether owners of a mulch plant in Sparrows Point were following rules to prevent fires at the facility until the blaze, which has burned for two days, is out. Baltimore County firefighters used backhoes yesterday to lift debris from the burning piles of wood to get closer to the fire's core. "That's going to be our strategy until we get it," said Lt. Vernon S. Adamson, a Fire Department spokesman. He predicted that firefighters would battle the flames and smoke, which was visible for miles, through today and possibly through the weekend.

After a devastating fire killed 100 people last year at The Station, a nightclub in Rhode Island, fire officials around the country asked themselves whether such a tragedy could happen under their watch. Some localities have acted more quickly than others. In Howard County, Deputy Chief Kevin Simmons reviewed the local fire code, which hadn't been touched since 1992. With help from staff members and consultants, Simmons tightened the code, supervising the addition of stringent regulations such as a requirement that bars and nightclubs with a capacity of more than 100 people install automatic sprinklers.

An unplanned inspection of Howard County's Circuit Court building has turned up a series of fire code violations - including exposed wires, overloaded outlets and storage too close to sprinkler heads - in the cramped, historic structure. Fire and risk management officials visited the building two weeks ago at the request of the sheriff's office to update the court's evacuation plan. But that visit turned into an inspection when a fire official noticed violations, said fire Chief Joseph Herr.

City fire officials ordered a Northeast Baltimore manufacturing plant to shut down yesterday in the wake of a potentially explosive fire in a residential neighborhood, the second hazardous-chemical blaze in the city in as many weeks. Battalion Chief Hector L. Torres said officials ordered the shutdown of JAG Industries in the 2200 block of Aisquith St. because of numerous fire code violations. Torres said the company did not have the required Fire Department permit to store and use hazardous chemicals.

After a devastating fire killed 100 people last year at The Station, a nightclub in Rhode Island, fire officials around the country asked themselves whether such a tragedy could happen under their watch. Some localities have acted more quickly than others. In Howard County, Deputy Chief Kevin Simmons reviewed the local fire code, which hadn't been touched since 1992. With help from staff members and consultants, Simmons tightened the code, supervising the addition of stringent regulations such as a requirement that bars and nightclubs with a capacity of more than 100 people install automatic sprinklers.

After a devastating fire killed 100 people last year at The Station, a nightclub in Rhode Island, fire officials around the country asked themselves whether such a tragedy could happen under their watch. Some localities have acted more quickly than others. In Howard County, Deputy Chief Kevin Simmons reviewed the local fire code, which hadn't been touched since 1992. With help from staff members and consultants, Simmons tightened the code, supervising the addition of stringent regulations such as a requirement that bars and nightclubs with a capacity of more than 100 people install automatic sprinklers.

State environmental officials said they won't be able to determine whether owners of a mulch plant in Sparrows Point were following rules to prevent fires at the facility until the blaze, which has burned for two days, is out. Baltimore County firefighters used backhoes yesterday to lift debris from the burning piles of wood to get closer to the fire's core. "That's going to be our strategy until we get it," said Lt. Vernon S. Adamson, a Fire Department spokesman. He predicted that firefighters would battle the flames and smoke, which was visible for miles, through today and possibly through the weekend.

Howard fire officials issued three citations -- each carrying a $100 fine -- against the county's historic Circuit Court building yesterday, citing continued problems with blocked hallways and the sprinkler system. The violations, the only three not to be remedied after an initial April inspection turned up multiple code problems, were all in one area -- the Howard Clerk of the Circuit Court's space, a historically cramped office with multiple public files and paperwork. There, fire officials noted a hallway blocked by storage boxes, a file room with court files piled too close to sprinkler heads and a stairwell sprinkler control valve blocked by a filing cabinet.

An unplanned inspection of Howard County's Circuit Court building has turned up a series of fire code violations - including exposed wires, overloaded outlets and storage too close to sprinkler heads - in the cramped, historic structure. Fire and risk management officials visited the building two weeks ago at the request of the sheriff's office to update the court's evacuation plan. But that visit turned into an inspection when a fire official noticed violations, said fire Chief Joseph Herr.

An unplanned inspection of Howard County's Circuit Court building has turned up a series of fire code violations - including exposed wires, overloaded outlets and storage too close to sprinkler heads - in the cramped, historic structure. Fire and risk management officials visited the building two weeks ago at the request of the sheriff's office to update the court's evacuation plan. But that visit turned into an inspection when a fire official noticed violations, said fire Chief Joseph Herr.

A Parkville woman and her husband were given probation before judgment Thursday in Baltimore County District Court in Towson after being convicted of running an illegal day care center with fire code violations.The charges against Diane L. and Melvin Smith stemmed from a fire in their home in April that caused minor injuries to six of the seven children being cared for there.Assistant State's Attorney Jason G. League said the Smiths each were fined $200 for fire code violations. Diane Smith also was fined $250 for operating an unlicensed day care center.

The Dundalk house where a mother and four daughters were killed in a weekend fire had been cited in July for eight housing violations, including lack of functioning smoke detectors on the second floor and evidence of problems with the furnace. A month later, when inspectors found that the deficiencies had not been corrected and after repeated, unsuccessful attempts to reach the landlord of the duplex, the Baltimore County Department of Social Services gave the tenant, Michelle Ferguson, a choice: Accept a voucher to move somewhere else, or continue living there at her own risk.

City fire officials ordered a Northeast Baltimore manufacturing plant to shut down yesterday in the wake of a potentially explosive fire in a residential neighborhood, the second hazardous-chemical blaze in the city in as many weeks. Battalion Chief Hector L. Torres said officials ordered the shutdown of JAG Industries in the 2200 block of Aisquith St. because of numerous fire code violations. Torres said the company did not have the required Fire Department permit to store and use hazardous chemicals.