The Hartford Fire Department’s tallest ladder truck can reach seven stories high. But Hartford has dozens of buildings larger than that — with its biggest building reaching 29 stories above the largest ladders’ reach.
If one of the capital city’s high-rises erupted in flames, the chance of people inside escaping will vary widely depending on which building they’re in. Evacuation plans are approved by the city fire marshal, but there is no across-the-board rule that makes sure each manager is actually testing and enforcing the plans.
And in many cases, according to a review by the Hartford Business Journal, there seems to be little effort to be prepared for a disaster. Indeed, not even the city is doing its job, the city Fire Marshal admits.
Although state statute requires a yearly fire marshal inspection of all such buildings, that just doesn’t happen. Hartford Deputy Fire Marshal Jose Schaffino said because of his office’s limited staff and funding, many buildings don’t get their annual check-up. Five inspectors are charged with making thousands of building visits a year, he said, so that statute has gone unfulfilled for about 20 years.
The problem is made worse because city officials keep no tab on how many high rises are in Hartford. The Fire Marshal’s Office, the City Assessor’s Office and the Licensing and Inspections Division couldn’t find such information without extensive research. So while people in a building are perfectly aware that they’re in a high rise, firefighters responding to a call might not be.
Also, records at the Fire Marshall’s office are sketchy, leaving questions as to the last time a building was inspected or a fire drill tried out. Paper files with inspection notes often end in the mid-1990s, and new software only records each building’s activities from this year, leaving more than a decade-long gap in inspection records.
Even with new software, it’s tough to tell whether a building has been inspected or if the inspector just didn’t do the paperwork. CityPlace I at 185 Asylum St., for example, had 10 recorded visits from the fire marshal inspector since the beginning of the year. But 29-story 280 Trumbull St. had no recorded visits, and neither did the 24-story One State Street, more commonly known as Statehouse Square.
“I know we’ve been in there, I just don’t know where to look” for the records, Schaffino said.
Different Strategies
Evacuation plans differ with each building. Grunberg Realty, which owns 280 Trumbull and 777 Main Street, have two concrete-constructed emergency exit stairways apiece, said Susan Donahue, director of commercial operations for Grunberg, and workers do annual, building-wide drills. Also, certain security personnel and building staff are assigned to check for stragglers on each floor.
Thomas Norman, a records assistant for law firm Day Pitney at CityPlace I, said each floor has a fire warden to shepherd workers outside. Norman and other workers didn’t know who their warden was, but they knew wardens were outfitted with yellow hats when the alarms went off.
Regardless, he said, “I know what my plan is — my plan is to get out of the building.”
Robert Duval, a fire inspector with the Massachusetts-based National Fire Protection Association, said most high rises have solid sprinkler systems, fire alarms and tested plans for getting out in an emergency. But there are always some who let the plans gather dust.
“It’s human nature. If it’s not on your to-do list for this month, it can slip by the wayside,” he said.
The Danger Zone
And if workers end up trapped in a burning high-rise, a ladder isn’t a quick or easy escape.
In a full-on fire, flames and thick smoke will block the exits, and workers aren’t likely to get out safely without some help. If they’re on or below the seventh floor, they’re possibly reachable by ladder. Which means they could inch their way down about 100 feet of rungs high above the concrete — if they’re lucky.
“Unlucky” means that they’re above the seventh floor — which is likely if they work in downtown Hartford. Here, the only chance of rescue is having a firefighter rappel down the side of the building and escort the worker down with a harness.
Hartford’s fire ladders are about 100 feet tall, and Duval said that’s typical: Fire ladders usually range from 65 to 130 feet, but the 100-foot variety is tall yet maneuverable in city streets. That usually gets up to the sixth or seventh floor, Duval said, but that depends on how close the trucks can get to the building.
But bottom line: Workers should get out for every alarm, regardless of whether they know for certain there’s an actual fire, he said. That’s why escape plans are so important.
As for Hartford’s enforcement of fire codes, Schaffino said because his inspectors can’t get to every building, they have to prioritize certain types of facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes and day care centers.
His office has five inspectors, two lieutenants and two marshals to cover the city. It’s an improvement over the early 1990s, when there were only three inspectors and one marshal, he said, but they’d still need more personnel to tackle the massive job of inspecting every building at least once a year.
“We’re playing catch-up,” he said.
