More than 100 violations discovered at Rockland County apartment complex after fire
SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. -- A fire at a Rockland County apartment complex exposed other potential dangers to residents and first responders. Inspectors uncovered faulty smoke alarms, missing fire extinguishers and mold.
Friday, CBS2's Tony Aiello spoke with building inspectors and residents.
"One thing I can say is I'm scared. I'm scared," said Banes Joseph, who had no idea things were so bad at Country Village Towers.
A 7th-floor fire last week led to an emergency inspection that uncovered more than 100 violations.
Rockland County Fire Inspector Bill Gorbutt noticed problems as he joined first responders at the fire scene on March 9.
"There was no early alert at all when we showed up. Those alarms were not sounding, the strobes were not activated. So the tenants basically were going on, if they saw smoke, smelled smoke, they were knocking on each other's doors," Gorbutt said.
Inspectors said required fire extinguishers in hallways were missing. Smoke and fire detectors were not functioning. Some units had black mold. Twenty-five apartments were illegally subdivided into multiple bedrooms - dangerous for first responders who might have to search in blinding smoke.
"If they crawl into that apartment with five or six bedrooms, they can easily lose their sense of direction and it could turn out to be tragic," said Ed Markunas from the Rockland County Office of Buildings and Codes.
Inspectors noticed cracked concrete on building balconies and electrical fixtures falling off walls.
The management company took Aiello's contact information without answering questions.
"All they looking for is money. Just money," said Joseph.
He said complaints have piled up and hopes this leads to a turnaround.
Last month, Rockland County took over inspection duties from the troubled Village of Spring Valley and is working through a huge backlog of unaddressed violations at dozens of properties.
The county said issues at this complex are serious, but not enough to justify a vacate order.
