Trenton Fire Department Director Qareeb Bashir accepted the check from Louis Kilmer, chief of the Bureau of Fire Code Enforcement in the state's Division of Fire Safety.
TRENTON - State fire officials presented the city with $20,000 Wednesday to cover the fire department's costs in extinguishing a 2013 fire in a hi-rise building that had unresolved fire code violations, which hampered firefighting efforts.
Trenton Fire Department Director Qareeb Bashir accepted the check from Louis Kilmer, chief of the Bureau of Fire Code Enforcement in the state's Division of Fire Safety, at Trenton fire headquarters.
Both men said they hope other property owners see this as a what can happen if properties are not in compliance with fire codes.
"It's meant to send a message," Kilmer said.
Bashir said said property owners should be thinking of their residents when thinking of code violations. "Following the code enhances the safety of residents, and firefighters," the director said.
The $20,000 represents Trenton's portion of what the state was able to recoup from the owners of the Regency House apartments in the 1300 block of West State Street.
The building's owner has alternately been listed as 1315 ESS Holdings of Brooklyn, N.Y. and 1315 WSS Holdings of Lakewood.
In January 2013, city firefighters were called to the building for a fire on a stove, usually a routine call that firefighters refer to as "careless cooking."
But firefighters had a hard time extinguishing the fire in a third-floor apartment because the pump that pushes water up into the building to feed firefighters' hoses had been turned off, city fire officials said. The pump had also been modified without construction permits, officials said in 2013.
When smoke started filling the entire third floor, residents panicked and firefighters had to start rescuing them, in addition to fighting the fire, officials said at the time.
What should have been a conventional kitchen fire quickly became a 2-alarm blaze.
RELATED: Owners of Trenton apartment hit with 78 code violations
Fire investigators and code officers would find a multitude of code violations - 78 after the January 2013 fire, for which the owners were charged with violating.
In December 2012, state housing inspectors had found 146 code violations, officials said in 2013.
Kilmer said Wednesday that if there's a fire at a building that's already under violation, and the previous violations cause the fire or its spread, the state can seek to recoup the costs of fighting the fire from the owners, among other penalties.
That is what the state did after the January 2013 fire, Kilmer said. The process can take some time, due to appeals, he said.
Also present at the check presentation was Rick Farletta, a state Division of Fire Safety official who is a retired Trenton fire battalion chief.
He said the January 2013 fire at the Regency House was a bad situation for residents and the outcome for all could have been worse. "The firemen were put in a tough, dangerous situation."
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
