Safer Heritage reopens
No building is fireproof. The best that can be hoped for by those who lease apartments is landlords who take safety a step beyond applicable building codes. When the Heritage Apartments were constructed in the 1990s, the developers Uniontown Property Development Corp., adhered to all building codes in selecting materials and had smoke-detecting alarms wired into the city fire station. It is suspected, but not proven, that someone disabled the alarm when a fire broke out late one February night at the five-story building that was home to many elderly residents.
Fast response saved the lives of the 33 residents. Although three residents were treated for injuries, this fire could have been much worse in its claim on both the people who lived there and their possessions. Most damage was confined to the third floor. And it probably could have been repaired and tenants might have been able to move in sooner than just recently. But the building’s owners took safety further than was required when the building went up. The Heritage now has a sprinkler system, fire retardation material in the stairwells and emergency pull cords in the bedrooms and bathrooms of each of the 36 apartments.
The new safety features should ease the minds of returning tenants who must still remember the night they were roused from their sleep to seek safety. Good planning and fast response by city firefighters worked well that night. Undoubtedly, city firefighters will continue to watch over the Heritage. And they will have added help with the new systems.