BRUNSWICK, Maine — Firefighters call it a huge statewide problem: apartments going too long without inspection. The deadly fire on Noyes Street in Portland a year ago led to a new inspection program of all multi-unit apartments in Portland. Brunswick is considering a similar plan.
A fast-moving apartment fire four years ago in downtown Brunswick got the town talking about a new inspection program for all 1,200 apartments in town, but nothing was done. After Portland’s deadly Noyes Street fire, a town committee is pushing for those inspections.
“This is a big deal,” Brunswick Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Emerson said.
The fire department, not code enforcement, is responsible for making sure apartments are safe, Emerson said, but he admits very few apartments get inspected.
“We inspect the ones that we receive complaints on. That’s it,” he said.
Two months ago, firefighters closed a downtown apartment building for not having enough exits, structural defects and faulty wiring. Victoria Jackson and other tenants were forced to move out.
“It should have been done five years ago, and that’s why they’re condemning it,” Jackson said.
Only after the fire department closed the building did the landlord decide to make improvements. That’s the goal of this proposed inspection program: find and fix problems and make buildings safer.
“Inspections are done to increase somebody’s ability to survive a fire,” Emerson said.
Downtown Master Plan Implementation Committee member Debora King said firefighters “are stretched in terms of their manpower.”
King is on the committee recommending the town hire a new apartment inspector for about $70,000 per year, paid for by a new landlord fee of about $60 per unit.
“It is the obligation of the property owner to ensure that their tenants are safe,” King said.
Sonny Fortin owns a four-unit apartment building. He said inspections are a good idea but not the fees.
“I take pride in taking care of this piece of property,” Fortin said. “I don’t have any objection to it. But I do have objections to them charging the landlords. I don’t see why. We pay enough taxes as it is without any more tacked onto us.”
The council will decide whether to go through with this plan and who pays for it.