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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