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Fire officials raise concern about the structures

PALMER TWP., Pa. - Dozens of people in Northampton County are having to wait in hotels or with family because their brand-new apartments in Palmer Township have been cited as unsafe.

The Palmer Township Fire Commissioner said he spotted several safety issues on Monday, one of which could be deadly. Commissioner Stephen Gallagher said the biggest problem with the Reserve at Palmer Pointe is the lack of fire alarms in each apartment.

"If there was a fire, the sprinkler heads would activate. Nobody would know that there's a fire. If you're on the third floor you won't know if there's a fire on the first floor. It essentially could be trapping you," said Gallagher.

Gallagher said the issue was brought up to the developer, Metropolitan Companies, all the way back at the first meeting in August of last year.

"The occupant notification devices was definitely during the plan review process," Gallagher said.

Metropolitan Executive Vice President Marty Stallone agreed the issue was brought up, but got overlooked for some reason.

"Somehow there was a lapse in communication between our construction company and the Township," Stallone said.

The result is dozens of people having to wait to move in, and having to find somewhere else to stay.

"Either with hotels or family members," Stallone said.

Stallone said his company believes the building is up to code, but at this point it's too late to argue.

"We're just going to eat the cost and install it rather than continue to debate the merits of the issue, so as not to inconvenience our tenants one day longer," Stallone said.

Stallone said that installation should happen quickly.

"We hope, in a matter of a week or two, at the absolute most, the fire system will be installed to the Fire Marshal's satisfaction," Stallone said.

Gallagher said he's not trying to cause delays; he's just trying to keep people safe.

"It's an unnecessary risk to the residents, and it's an unknown risk to a lot of tenants," Gallagher said.

Gallagher said there are other problems with the building in addition to the fire alarms, like the plumbing connected to the fire hydrants.

"The hydrant that is on the rear is plumbed from the sprinkler system. The problem with that is, if we shut down the sprinkler system, you shut down the water supply to the hydrant," Gallagher said.

And he also said the dryer vents aren't up to code.

"The dryer vents for all the units have cages on them, and the cages prevent any excess lint from going to the exterior. It will eventually build up, if not cleaned, and that build up of lint will eventually ignite and cause a fire," Gallagher said.

But Gallagher agreed with Stallone that the safety measures could be installed within two weeks.

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