Some seniors living on the top floor of an Olney apartment building could be in what a fire official called a “hairy situation,” beyond the reach of the nearest fire department’s ladders during an emergency.
Retirement community Willow Manor Fair Hill Farm, located on Georgia Avenue, is fully compliant with fire code due to building sprinkler systems, yet still provides a rescue challenge if residents who live in the rear of the building’s fifth floor need to be rescued, according to Captain Thomas Foster with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue. The agency conducted drills Friday.
“What we found is that we’re not going to be able to make rescues from the rear of the fifth floor with the ladder that we have at [the nearest station],” Foster said. “If the people were hanging out their windows, we couldn’t do anything for them.”
Fostersaid the nearest fire station, the Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department on Georgia Avenue, has a ladder that can reach the building’s fourth floor, but if a fire trapped people in the rear of the fifth floor, they would need to find alternate rescue methods.
“Our game plan then would be to enter a window on the left or right side of the building and make our way to the back of the fifth floor,” Foster said. “There are ladders that are long enough [elsewhere], but they would need to wait for those trucks to get there and make their rescues.”
Seniors in the residence have complained to the county executive’s office and county council members about fire safety concerns at the building. But building owner Jeff Kirby said he designed the building per code.
“If it is less accessible to fire trucks, then you need to beef up sprinkler systems and add additional firewalls,” Kirby told The Examiner. “We’ve met all fire codes. If it appears that access isn’t as good in the rear, we’ve done other things within the building to alleviate that.”
