City: Aging fire escapes showing signs of distress, deterioration

Council members say issue has gone unchecked for too long
Updated: 8:40 PM EDT Oct 19, 2016
Cinncinatti Fire Escapes Left for Too Long
 CINCINNATI —Cincinnati City Hall is taking on an issue that council members said has gone unchecked far too long.
The discussion is about something very common — fire escapes.
Councilman Kevin Flynn said, “This is not something I am willing to delay. This is a necessity.”
According to a memo from the city manager, the aging fire escape inventory in Cincinnati is showing signs of significant distress and deterioration.
Currently there are 40 fire escapes with enforcement orders. In one case, inspectors found the ladder chained and broken cables. City leaders said a new fire escape program will increase the level of safety for citizens.
Inspections must be performed by a professional engineer. It’s estimated it will cost the owner of a small building between $300 and $700 every five years.
Councilwoman Yvette Simpson said, “The people impacted by this are going to pay some fees and we’ll do public engagement so the public will know what these charges are.”
The inspection program will begin next year.

Updated: 7:03 p.m. Tuesday, June 21, 2016 | Posted: 5:15 a.m. Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Tipp City bookstore fire: 3 hurt, up to $1M damage

3 people taken to hospitals for smoke inhalation

By Breaking News Staff

TIPP CITY —

Three people were taken to hospitals after fire destroyed a Tipp City bookstore Tuesday morning.

• Owner estimates $1 million in inventory lost
• 3 people suffer smoke inhalation
• Building built in 1871
• Building listed in National Register of Historic Places

UPDATE@5:40 p.m.:

A bookstore at the heart of the historic district in downtown Tipp City caught fire Tuesday morning, causing $600,000 to $1 million in damage and sending three people to hospitals.

Bill Jones, owner of Browse Awhile Books, estimated more than $1 million in inventory was lost in the fire in the 100 block of East Main Street.

Tipp City Fire Chief Steve Kessler said his damage estimates include $400,000 to the building and $200,000 to the contents. He said the estimate could change based on what can be salvaged.

The fire was first reported Monday evening, but it rekindled and crews were called out again Tuesday morning. As crews were arriving on scene around 5:10 a.m., they reported heavy smoke and flames.

Faulty wiring is believed to be the cause of the original fire from Monday evening, according to Kessler. He said the rekindling could have been caused by a different problem, but the cause might not be determined because of the extent of damage. The building had working smoke alarms.

Two people were taken to area hospitals for smoke inhalation. A firefighter was taken for deydration. All were treated and released.

The building — built in 1871 — is in the Old Tippecanoe Main Street Historic District and is listed in the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places. There are two apartments above the business.

Officials said the occupants of the upstairs apartment were initially trapped when the first emergency units arrived. Police officers were able to talk the occupants out of a window and down a fire escape to safety.

Jones, who’s owned the store since 1990, said some books can be salvaged. But among the items destroyed are books up to $3,000 in price, he said.

“This is a historic district, so it has to come out looking exactly the same,” said Jones, who has insurance. “But all of that is in the future. I’m still in a little bit of shock.”

Mike Curtis, who lives a block and a half from the bookstore, said there is a lot of nostalgia with the business. He said his wife helped design the interior of the apartment a few months ago.

“This is a huge impact on our downtown,” Curtis said. “We like this downtown and what we’ve got going on down here. … Everybody’s safe, and that’s all that matters. But now it’s rebuilding time.”

The Downtown Tipp City Partnership has started a GoFundMe page for relief efforts to all affected by the fire, the organization announced on its Facebook page.

“It’s heart-warming and touching,” Jones said. “I’ve got more hugs (Tuesday) than I’ve gotten in the last six months. That’s Tipp City. It’s a close-knit town. Everybody cares about everybody else. We’re going to dig out the best we can and see where we go from there.”

Kessler said a second building had water and smoke damage.

The building to the west of the bookstore houses the Merchant31 clothing store, where inventory kept upstairs was damaged by fire and smoke.

Heather Dorsten, director of the Downtown Tipp City Partnership organization, said the bookstore and its “quirky array” of books cannot be replaced.

“We are sad not only because of the economic development hit downtown. When it comes to the historical architecture of the building, we are all devastated for the loss,” Dorsten said.

— Contributing writer Nancy Bowman contributed to this report.

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 Raw: Fire strikes Browse Awhile Books in Tipp City

 Historic buildings damaged in Tipp City fire

 Fire strikes bookstore in Tipp City

 3 people trapped in flames escape Tipp City fire safely

Bill aims to require fire escape ladders for rental units

Posted: 6:04 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015

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By Laura A. Bischoff – Columbus bureau

COLUMBUS —

Landlords would be required to install exterior fire escape ladders for residential rental units on the third floor and above, if bills sponsored by local legislators becomes law.
State Sens. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering and Bill Beagle, R-Tipp City, are sponsoring bills that would give rental property owners 180 days to add the ladders. State Rep. Rick Perales, R-Beavercreek, is sponsoring a similar measure in the House.
Lehner said property owners could meet the requirement with portable emergency ladders that are installed and kept in a case beside a window. The ladders, which cost a few hundred dollars, are tossed out in an emergency and people climb down to safety.
“As many colleges and universities resume classes, it’s important that we raise awareness about the dangers of not having a second means of egress in rental homes in our campus communities,” said Beagle in a written statement. He added that over the past 15 years, college students in central and southwest Ohio have perished in fires where a second escape route wasn’t available.
Beagle and Lehner sponsored a similar bill last year but it didn’t make it out of committee. The bills do not apply to hotels, dorms or buildings with fire suppression systems. Beagle said he does not know how many housing units the bill would cover.
The lawmakers started pushing the change to state law after two University of Cincinnati students from the Miami Valley died in a fire when they couldn’t escape from a third-story attic bedroom.
Ellen Garner and Chad Kohls’ only escape routes were a 36-foot jump from a third story window onto pavement or through a smoke-filled interior stairwell. They succumbed to smoke inhalation before firefighters could rescue them and later died.
The fire broke out Jan. 1, 2013 when a space heater was placed too close to bedding. Garner, 20, was a 2010 graduate of Tippecanoe High School and Kohls, 21, was a 2009 Centerville High School graduate. Ten people were in the house when the fire started on the second story.
Ohio Fire Marshal spokesman Bill Krugh said the marshal’s office does not take positions on pending legislation.