PORTLAND, Maine — A Portland task force assigned to review fire and codes inspections procedures following a deadly Nov. 1 blaze on Noyes Street is considering the creation of a new office to oversee inspections and a public database of complaints as possible steps to avoid future tragedies.
Interim City Manager Sheila Hill-Christian appointed the panel, led in part by Boston Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Fleming, in the aftermath of the 20-24 Noyes St. blaze that claimed the lives of six people.
The Noyes Street fire, which came the morning after a reported Halloween party at the site, was Maine’s deadliest in four decades.
Portland Fire Chief Jerome LaMoria and State Fire Marshal Joseph Thomas held a news conference late Wednesday morning to announce that investigators have determined the fire was accidental, caused by the improper discarding of cigarettes into a porch smoking receptacle placed too closely to combustibles.
The Noyes Street property had been the subject of 16 neighbor complaints dating back to 2003, including some about trash and combustibles at the property.
The magnitude of the tragedy and track record of complaints motivated Hill-Christian to assemble the task force to look into how the city performs and tracks its fire and codes inspections.
A 2013 consultant’s review of the Portland Fire Department suggested it have 10 full-time inspectors to keep up with regular fire code inspections for buildings across the city.
In the aftermath of the fire, the city acknowledged that Portland’s Inspections Division has “a team of three inspectors that handle land use, building, plumbing and electrical inspections and one inspector that handles citizen complaints.”
The division conducted more than 850 inspections over the past year in response to complaints, the city announced at the time, but the 2013 department review by the Maryland-based Public Safety Solutions Inc. noted that nearly 4,900 businesses and apartment buildings in the city should be inspected annually.
On Wednesday, the city announced that task force member Keith Gautreau has been newly given the title of acting assistant chief of fire prevention and community outreach for the city fire department.
The task force is considering several recommendations for city councilors to consider next month, according to a news release issued Wednesday by city spokeswoman Jessica Grondin.
Among them are:
— The creation of one office that houses both fire prevention inspectors and code enforcement inspectors.
— An improved centralized database to track complaints and inspections, which the public could access online to view property information.
— A proactive inspections program instead of an enhancement of the current, complaint-driven system.
— Increased enforcement of current codes.
The task force is scheduled to draft a final slate of recommendations to be the subject of a Feb. 3 public hearing. Those recommendations would then be on schedule for review by the City Council’s Public Safety, Health and Human Services Committee on Feb. 10.
The city has also established a telephone hotline and email account for residents with fire safety questions or concerns, which can be accessed by calling 482-LIFE (5433) or emailing life@portlandmaine.gov.
The Nov. 1 fire at 20-24 Noyes St. claimed the lives of tenants David Bragdon Jr., 27, Ashley Thomas, 29, and Nicole Finlay, 26, as well as apartment visitors Christopher Conlee, 25, of Portland, Rockland resident Steven Summers, 29, and Topsham resident Maelisha Jackson, 26.
