4 Investigates apartments with major safety hazards
February 23, 2011
some photos our reporter took started a nearly weeklong investigation that got the city involved today. those pictures prompted the city to make a surprise visit today to a dilapidated apartment complex. and what they found made our original pictures look minor in comparison. jeff maher broke this story wide open ... he's live along juan tabo near lomas the skylight towers apartment complex is in really bad shape. this is a piece of stucco that fell from the walls. a fire marshal inspector says there are more city and fire code violations than he can count. on sunday, i was covering a story at skylight towers apartments when something else caught my eye. "this thing is cracked, all the way to the top" exposed cable wires loose rails, on the second and third floors -- missing light fixtures covers -- i began taking cell phone pictures. hole-filled balconies , decaying stairways, and fenceless porches. the next day, i went to city hall, and showed my pictures to city inspectors "i see potential code violations here" today, a city inspector showed up at the complex, and found more violations. the entire fire alarm system at the 45-unit complex does not work it has not been serviced in about three years. there's a hole in the roof above this water heater. loose gas lines. and sagging balconies. inspectors told this woman, to not go out on her balcony. we walked inside dorraye ceesay's apartment -- "this is in june of 2007" where we found that her fire extinguisher was outdated by four years. it's supposed to be checked every year. she only had one smoke detector -- her two-bedroom apartment is supposed to have three. "do you think anyone should be living in these conditions? no i don't and i think my neighbors are afraid to call to get some help" inspectors say this is one of the worst cases of neglect they've ever seen. "the ones that we are documenting today are serious enough in nature that do pose a threat to life safety at this complex" the property owner lives in california. the manager-- rio rancho. inspectors called her down -- and we went inside for answers. "did you know all of these problems existed here? i don't know all of the problems. i have fire extinguishers and i already had an appointment for the guy to come out and tag and check our alarm system" she says she will do whatever it takes to fix the problems. "are you glad i brought this to your attention? we're very glad, places like this do have to comply because it's not all about the all-mighty dollar because you can't put a price on a life" this apartment complex is now on firewatch -- meaning there are two fire code workers on site 24/7 until the fire system is fixed. tomorrow morning, the city is calling out the cavalry -- fire, police, structural engineers and inspectors will be going through every apartment -- to see if this building is ev safe to occupy. we will follow this closely -- and have the latest tomorrow. live along juan tabo near lomas
