PORTLAND, Maine — The death Wednesday of a Cumberland Avenue man prompted a city inspection of the apartment building where he lived, City Hall spokeswoman Jessica Grondin said Thursday.
Donald Stain, 53, of 563 Cumberland Ave. was smoking a cigarette on a second-story porch when the railing he was leaning on gave way. He fell 19 feet to an asphalt surface and was pronounced dead at the scene.
His death was reported at 3:15 p.m. and is being investigated by police and the state office of the chief medical examiner. It is not considered suspicious at this time, Grondin said.
City inspectors Wednesday closed all the building’s porches. They returned Thursday morning for a full building inspection. Grondin said a records search did not turn up complaints about the building.
City tax records show the three-story building was constructed in 1900 and was bought in 1997 by Cape Elizabeth resident Harry Krigman. Krigman also owns properties at 528 Deering Ave. and 218 Walton St. All are multi-family rentals, and Grondin said they also will be inspected.
Members of the Portland Tenants Union, a group that formed in the aftermath of a Nov. 1 fire that claimed the lives of six people, derided the city’s response as too little, too late.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of yet another Portland resident from unsafe housing conditions. When is the city going to take action and start protecting residents from unfit and unsafe housing? Landlords must be held accountable,” Crystal Cron, co-chairman of the union, said in a statement. “The people of Portland deserve protection. The Portland Tenants Union demands justice for all who are denied safe and affordable housing.”
Grondin urged building residents to inspect roof decks and porches and to report possible violations and request inspections through the Fixit! Portland Web page.
BDN Portland Bureau Chief Seth Koenig contributed to this story.