Editor’s note: The following is information from the first of several inquiries. Additional posting will follow throughout the day.
Notes from NewsLanc‘s Cliff Lewis’s interview of Fire Marshal, Lt. Thomas Paul, who oversaw yesterday’s inspection and subsequent closing of the Brunswick Hotel:
- According to Paul, in the course of projects like the Brunswick’s renovation and alarm system upgrade, it is customary for a code official/inspector to visit the site as often as once each week. He said that yesterday’s inspection was of special thoroughness because of the passed deadline. Yesterday’s visit was, essentially, an attempt to determine whether the existing system could serve as a sufficient “band-aid” until the required system could be installed. And, in the course of this more thorough inspection, a number of problems unrelated to the alarm system were discovered.
- Paul indicated that the fire alarm system was not the sole citation that lead to closing the hotel. In fact, according to Paul, most of the “life safety concerns” were discovered in the last 24 hours. As Paul puts it, “the whole was equal to the sum of its parts”
- Because the Brunswick is privately owned, Paul did not want to dispense detailed information regarding the cited hazards. He encouraged me to speak with Zahedi to gather this information.
- Paul mentioned that one major problem had to do with the fire-resistance of some of the 9-story building’s vertical shafts (elevators, stairwells, laundry shoots.)
- Paul asserted that the passing of the June 30 deadline was not the sole reason for closing the hotel. If that had been the only issue, Paul said, the Bureau most likely would have simply issued a citation.
- Regarding the June 30 deadline, Paul said that it had been the last of many prior extensions.
- Paul maintained that the problems discovered yesterday were sufficient reason to close the hotel. Had they known about these particular issues sooner, Paul said, the hotel would have been immediately closed, as it was yesterday.
