Codes Compliance Archived

235 3rd Ave N Saint Petersburg, Florida Show on Map Hide Map
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Issue ID:

3732549

Submitted To:

City of St. Petersburg

Category:

Codes Compliance

Viewed:

284 times

Reported via:

http://www.stpete.org

Reported:

on

Duplicated By:

3732342

Description

I live at Cottonwood Bayview, 235 3rd Ave North on the 7th floor. During Hurricane Irma the emergency lights and exit lights in the interior corridors and stairwells were not functioning. They did not work until the power was restored by Duke Energy on Saturday, Sept. 16th around 10:00pm. For nearly one week the interior corridors and stairwells were PITCH BLACK. ALL lighting in the parking garage was also not functioning, also resulting in pitch black conditions. In case of emergency there would be no way to see where the building exits were. This is a CRITICAL life safety issue. This is a 300-unit apartment building. During the power outage people were using flashlights and candles for lighting. Thankfully one of these candles did not create a fire in a building in which occupants would be forced to escape an 8-story building in PITCH BLACK conditions.

The building provided a RENTAL generator around Tuesday, Sept. 12th which ONLY powered the lighting in the interior of the parking garage. The generator NEVER powered up interior corridor or stairwell emergency or exit lights. The generator was located on the first floor of the parking garage in the back of the main entry (at entrance to bike storage). Subsequently when tenants on the lower floors complained of the generator fumes the generator was moved outside, in front of the loading dock door. On Sept. 13th the generator ran out of fuel and the building manager sent an email to all tenants apologizing saying they couldn’t source more fuel.

Per the attached emails from the building manager the backup building generator did not work because they could not source fuel.

Given the severity of hundreds of people in a building with life safety systems failure why wasn’t power restoration expedited by the City/Duke Energy? If that wasn’t possible then why weren’t we placed on a FIRE WATCH by the Fire Department?

I am begging that this building be inspected ASAP, this is a life safety concern in which hundreds of people’s lives were at risk when the power went out and the building’s life safety systems FAILED.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.

also asked...
Q. What are you reporting?
A. Property Maintenance Issues

4 Comments

  • Acknowledged Mayor's Action Center 5 (Registered User)

  • Mayor's Action Center 5 (Registered User)

  • Mayor's Action Center 5 (Registered User)

  • Closed Customer Support (Verified Official)

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