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Lack of working smoke detectors blamed in deaths

By _EMILY C. DOOLEY_ (mailto:edooley@...) and _ETHAN

ZINDLER_ (mailto:ezindler@...)

STAFF WRITERs

Fire officials said the lack of functioning smoke detectors was a key reason

a young family of five perished in an early-morning house fire in Dennis

yesterday.

But whether the home contained malfunctioning detectors, detectors with

depleted batteries, or no detectors at all was unclear as investigators combed

through the ashes.

The duplex house has not been inspected in at least 20 years by local health

officials, who are charged with enforcing the town's fire code on rental

properties.

State law requires that all residential housing be equipped with functioning

smoke detectors. But towns have leeway in how they administer the law.

Dennis bylaws do not require annual inspections. Instead, landlords submit

an affidavit annually in which they state the property is in compliance with

the fire code.

" There is no requirement for an inspection to be done annually, " Dennis

Health Director Terence said yesterday. " However, an occupant or landlord

could request an inspection. We recommend the landlord do that, but they don't

often. "

The victims of yesterday's fire lived at 35 Blackberry Lane, the right half

of the duplex. In 2000, town officials received a request to inspect the

other unit in the duplex, 37 Blackberry Lane, in anticipation of its being

rented. But town records suggest that inspection was never done.

" We have nothing, no record of an inspection, " said.

Fire officials found smoke detectors in the left unit of the duplex, but

none had batteries in them.

Dennis town officials require property owners to file annual affidavits

stating that functioning smoke detectors are in the unit.

" Tired of it beeping "

said there is no way for the health department to guarantee the

accuracy of such affidavits. He said a landlord could just sign the paper and

send

it in yearly without paying attention. Or, equally possible, tenants could

remove batteries.

" The usual complaint is, 'Well I was tired of it beeping,' " said.

Under town bylaws, rental units must be inspected when they are first

rented, when the owner of the property changes or when a lapsed occupancy

permit is

renewed.

Salvatore Pargoli of West Yarmouth has owned the property since 1973. The

last time the property was inspected was in 1972, said.

Rental occupancy permits for the Blackberry Lane duplex can be traced back

to 1981, five years before local bylaws required an on-site visit by the

health department to determine how many people could live in the duplex. And

since the units have been rented continuously and Pargoli has remained the

owner,

there has been no call for an inspection, said.

Pargoli's son said his father would not comment on the matter

yesterday, adding that the elder Pargoli does not speak English well.

" He's 85 years old. Please, you'll give him a heart attack, " Pargoli said

outside his father's West Yarmouth home.

Day-to-day upkeep of the Blackberry Lane duplex is the responsibility of

Cape Realty, a West Yarmouth real estate rental and sales agency contracted by

Pargoli to manage the property. Workers at Cape Realty also declined to

comment yesterday.

Town-by-town discretion

In 1975, a new state building code required smoke detectors be installed in

all newly constructed homes. Each town administers the law locally, which

means there can be differences in how the law is administered from town to

town.

In Mashpee, for instance, town bylaws require multifamily units, including

duplexes, to have commercial fire alarm systems. A testing company must sign

an affidavit that the system works, said Mashpee Fire Chief Baker.

" When it comes to state regulations, there's little or no maintenance

inspection, " he said. " Usually it's the common areas that are inspected and not

the

personal space. "

About 70 percent of fatalities caused by fires in the home can be attributed

to nonexistent or faulty smoke detectors, according to the National Fire

Protection Association, a national organization that sponsors Fire Prevention

Week, which started Sunday.

" I've been building for over 25 years now, and the one regulation that makes

the biggest difference, in my opinion, is the smoke detectors, " said Everett

Boy Jr., who owns Reef Realty. That building and landscape company is where

" Ronnie " Mero worked until his death in the fire yesterday.

(Published: October 5, 2004)

Senator O' Leary,

I read of the tragedy of the Family in Dennis. I hope that you and all

of your friends on Beacon Hill realize that your failures to act on SD2068 or

SD2069 helped to kill this Family? Each of their souls is your responsibility.

You all were told of the failures of local and state inspectors to obey

and enforce the state codes for years. You all decided to close your ears and

eyes to this truth. You should consider yourselves as equals in the blame

for this Family's death.

I now ask you to pass this Legislation in memory of this Dennis Family

that died because bad inspectors were allowed to keep their jobs. If you need

new copies of SD2068 and SD2069 let me know and I will send them to you.

Ken Moulton

PO Box 874

Hyannisport, MA 02647

E-mail: _kenhmoulton@..._ (mailto:kenhmoulton@...)

Needless Tragedy –

The Parents and their three Children that died in the Dennis fire were a

tragedy that didn’t have to happen. There is plenty of blame for this tragedy.

First and foremost is the owner of the property and the rental company he hired

to care for the home.

The blame does not stop there. It also falls directly into the lap of the

Town of Dennis and the failure of their inspectors to obey and enforce the

rental and fire codes for 20 years. They took their pay checks each week and

let

down the Family and all others within Dennis.

All Legislators on Beacon Hill must also share in the blame. For almost a

decade they have refused to pass any Legislation that would make for strict

enforcement for all of the health and safety codes of the Commonwealth. Not one

Cape Legislator has stood to support any of this proposed safety Legislation.

All of the Safety Legislation that was proposed had tough penalties for the

failure of Government officials and inspectors to enforce the current codes.

Sadly, this Legislation was required after the Legislature, in December 1993,

passed a Law, without record of any vote or discussion, which held nobody

accountable if they failed to enforce the codes as the Law required them to.

This 1993 Legislation acted as a “Get out of Jail Free†card for all of

those local and state inspectors that broke the Law. The failure of local and

state inspectors to enforce codes was a partial reason for the Station Fire in

Rhode Island. How many more must live in danger, or die, before the Safety of

Citizens becomes the only factor in Public Safety and code enforcement?

My Family, and many others across the Commonwealth, have been the victims of

local and state inspectors to do their JOBS! We have been the victims of a

Legislature and local and state Government that has been more intent on

protecting their own rather than the citizens they are suppose to represent.

Luckily, my Family escaped the numerous code violations that the local and state

inspectors refused to obey and enforce. We got out with our lives but lost

everything else.

The Legislation I wrote, SD2068 and SD2069, would have helped to prevent the

tragedy in Dennis and many others across Massachusetts. I submitted SD2068,

for the first time in 1996. SD2069 was first submitted about three years ago.

Our ineffective Legislature let down the Family in Dennis. Sadly, it is too

late for them to apologize to this Family. It is not too late to pass this

Legislation to honor the Family from Dennis.

Ken Moulton

E-mail: _kenhmoulton@..._ (mailto:kenhmoulton@...)

I have written and submitted different pieces, as early as 1966, of

Legislation on behalf of the citizens of Massachusetts. I have honored my Son,

Kenny, by using his name in each. He is handicapped, retarded and a

quadriplegic.

I have included my reasoning for my submissions. Due to the length of SD2068

and SD2069 I will send them as attachments to anybody that wants them.

Tort Reform

Under current Massachusetts Law, if a local or state government building

inspector disobeys or refuses to enforce Building, Fire, Health and Safety Codes

they cannot be held liable or accountable by the citizens they have harmed.

These “protection†Laws are Un-Constitutional in that they deny Citizens

their Rights to Due Process.

My Legislation will hold only those that have broken state laws accountable.

It will also hold those local and state government entities that have known

of, profited from or protected those inspectors that have broken the law and

placed citizens in danger legally liable and accountable. I have been trying

to get this passed since 1996.

Tort Reform Legislation

SD2068 -

Section 10 of Chapter 258 of the General Laws, as appearing in the latest

official edition, is hereby amended by striking out Sections E and F and

inserting in place thereof the following -

Construction Lemon Law

Currently under Massachusetts Laws, many are allowed to withhold

information in relation to construction or the prior history in the sale of

property

and real estate. It means the buyer, consumer and citizen is almost defenseless

to unscrupulous agents. My Law will allow citizens to bring Legal action

against any that have practiced deception, fraud or other dangerous acts

against

a citizen or group.

By restoring these Legal rights to citizens it will demonstrate to those,

that practice deception, that they will not be protected. This will apply to

builders, banks, lawyers and private and government inspectors. Nobody will be

above the Law.

SD2069 –

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR ENFORCEMENT OF LOCAL AND STATE BUILDING, FIRE, HEALTH,

SAFETY, ELECTRICAL AND BUILDING CONSTRUCTION LAWS AND STANDARDS AND FOR

DISCLOSURE.