Spring Valley apartment complex had been cited for violations before Sunday's fire
SPRING VALLEY − The owners of the Slinn Avenue apartments where a fire recently displaced 86 people face $4,000 in fines for violating state fire codes.
After an inspection in December, the Rockland County Office of Building and Codes issued multiple violations to the New York City-based owners.
An inspection following Sunday's fire that destroyed multiple apartments has not been done. An investigation continues into the cause of the fire by law enforcement.
Building and Codes is working to expedite permits to allow the owners to remediate the damage so power can be restored and residents can regain access to their undamaged units, said Beth Cefalu, director of strategic communications for County Executive Ed Day.
Nearly two months before Sunday's fire, the owners of the 176-unit complex had been issued violations and a stop-work order for violations of the state fire code and doing work without permits, according to documents obtained by The Journal News/lohud.com.
The December inspection occurred after a fire at the complex. Electrical problems prevented the alarm system from notifying 44 Control, the county fire dispatch center. The system didn't work on Sunday, delaying notification to the fire department by several hours, fire officials said.
Buildings and Codes officials inspected the complex on Dec. 21 and followed up on Dec. 29. The agency issued the owners an order on Jan. 25 to remediate the violations immediately.
Edward Markunas, the director of Buildings and Codes, determined that based on Rockland County Building & Codes Fire Inspector Will Franck's review, the owner violated the following:
Doing construction and electrical work on the property at buildings 3 and 4 without a permit. The inspector issued a stop work order.
On Dec. 29, the inspector observed additional construction and electrical work were completed at both buildings in violation of the stop work order. No permit had been issued by Building & Codes.
As a result of the violations, Markunas issued the owners a $4,000 fine.
The listed owner — Surrey Carlton Housing Development Fund Corp. at 641 Lexington Ave. in Manhattan — didn't respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Preservation Development Partners bought the Surrey Carlton Apartments in August 2012 for $23.5 million, according to the company's website.
The complex and the role of Building & Codes
The four-building complex, which includes rent-subsidized Section 8 units, was built in 1965 and contains 32 one-bedroom units, 134 two-bedroom units, eight three-bedrooms, and two apartments with five bedroom.
The New York State Department of State deputized the county government in November 2021 to inspect, prosecute, and fine code violators after several decades of village dysfunction. The state acted — critics contend too slowly — after years of complaints by firefighters and elected officials. The county's new Office of Building and Codes began enforcement in February 2022.
The death of Spring Valley Firefighter Jared Lloyd and an adult home resident in a March 2021 fire fueled the state action.
An early morning blaze on Sunday destroyed numerous apartments and displaced at least 86 people. The flames brought more than 50 firefighters from 15 Rockland departments to the complex after 4 a.m.
"We responded to a major fire that was burning for several hours," Spring Valley Fire Chief Ray Canario said. "We got dispatched after 4 o'clock. The alarm system first went to a private monitor before we learned of the fire."
Retired Spring Valley Fire Inspector Frank Youngman said firefighters had responded to a fire in the same area of the building in December. He said fire communications problems existed then due to electrical problems. Youngman responded to Sunday's blaze as a member of the Hillcrest Fire Department.
Fire officials said the fire had been burning in an attic crawl space area and went undetected for about two hours before authorities were notified. Spring Valley firefighters responded at about 4:34 a.m. The storage area didn't have smoke detectors.
Some tenants reported smelling smoke but the complex's alarm system did not detect fire for up to two hours, fire officials said.
"The problem is the fire itself started up in the attic where there is no alarm system," Youngman said. "It takes time for the smoke then to set off the alarm."
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com Twitter: @lohudlegal
Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Spring Valley apartment complex had prior violations before fire
