False fire alarms at Fort Lauderdale condo has residents angry, wary

Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel

By Joe Kollin

Published January 18, 2007

FORT LAUDERDALE · At 4:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 18, the fire alarm sounds in the 21-story Plaza East Condominium on Galt Ocean Mile.

On the 12th floor, Harold Wechsler, 79, is so startled that he falls out of bed, cutting his left leg and right forearm. On a higher floor, an elderly widow waits for an announcement that this is just another in a series of false alarms. It doesn't come but "I certainly wasn't going to walk down those stairs if I didn't have to ... So I ignored it," she said.

On the ninth floor, Eugenie Moriconi, a design consultant and real estate agent, turns over and falls back asleep. "When the third alarm goes off that day and it's been going off all month, what the hell are you going to do?" she said. "It gets to the point that when owners hear it, they ignore it.''

It is just another morning in the 266-unit building, where the false alarm problem is a major issue.

Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue has no record of how many false alarms there have been because the condo's security guards aren't reporting them as required by the city, Assistant Chief Stephen McInerny said.

"By not calling us right away you're taking a huge risk, betting life and property," he said. "If you call us we can roll [the fire trucks], saving precious time while [the guards] check it out."

Some owners are blaming the condo association's 11-member board for the problem.

Wechsler, a retired engineer, said the board in July 2005 passed an emergency assessment to raise $310,000 for a new alarm system. The board required owners to pay quickly -- $582.96 in August and $582.95 in September -- so work could begin immediately.

Sixteen months later, the work is still not complete, although it is expected to be finished soon.

"We abide by the rules and regulations of the city and state and don't respond to words by residents who carry grudges," was all association president Richard Lourie would say about the issue. The building has a history of divisive and bitter internal politics.

It is the new alarms that are set off, in part by their sensitivity to dust from construction, according to Robert Sherman, manager of Edwards Systems Technology, which is installing them.

"It's a matter of contractors not taking the necessary steps to keep it from happening," said McInerny. "They can cover [the detectors] safely while working."

McInerny said building officials were recently told it would be OK to silence the alarm in all but the area of the building where it goes off. Then security can check the cause. But the building has been warned not to reset the alarm until the fire department approves.

The city hasn't imposed fines for owners calling in false fire alarms, for security not calling in when the alarm went off or for security resetting the alarm.

McInerny said the fire alarm system should be complete by the end of January.

"Once in place, it will be monitored by an outside company that will report all alarms immediately to us," he said. "That's the best course of action. They are doing the right thing."

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