Margaret Matray
The Virginian-Pilot
CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A senior living complex where three people died and six were injured in a blaze this weekend did not have a fire alarm, according to the city’s Fire Department.
Chesapeake Crossing Senior Community Apartments was not required to have such an alarm, said fire department spokesman Capt. Scott Saunders.
But the president of Boyd Homes, which owns the low-income senior apartments, said the buildings are equipped with a sprinkler system that includes an alarm. That alarm sounded during this weekend’s fire, said David Rudiger.
The alarm does not detect fire, but goes off when the sprinkler is triggered, he said.
The sprinkler system passed an inspection when it was evaluated by a private company in October, Saunders said. The complex also had smoke detectors in each apartment, and fire extinguishers were up to code, he said.
The independent-living complex complied with state building code when it was constructed in the early 1990s, he said. State fire prevention code enforces rules set by the building code and cannot require businesses to install fire alarms unless the building code calls for it, Saunders said.
Firefighters were called to the 1900 block of Robert Hall Blvd. just after 4:30 a.m. Saturday. They arrived six minutes later and had the four-alarm fire under control shortly before 7 a.m.
Fire officials haven’t confirmed the cause. Some residents have blamed it on a lightning strike.
The three people who died were found in different areas of the complex and have not yet been identified. Six people, including two firefighters, were hospitalized. An update on their conditions was not available Monday.
More than 150 residents were displaced and 144 apartments deemed uninhabitable, according to the fire department.
“We have a team that has been out on the property around the clock, and we’re working with the residents to get them back into their units as quickly as possible,” Rudiger said.
Boyd Homes was assisting about two dozen people with hotel rooms Monday, and Rudiger said the company is working with the community to find them alternative housing.
Saunders said it was not immediately known whether water came out of the sprinkler heads, but fire officials did hear at least some of the sprinkler alarms going off, signaling that water was flowing.
Some sprinkler systems connect to a third party that notifies emergency dispatchers when a fire is detected, Saunders said. The system at the complex did not, he said.
Fire officials visited the apartments in August and found five violations, inspection reports show. Saunders said the findings were typical for a business and that it did not appear to be a “bad report.”
Three violations -- improper fire lane marking, a missing firefighter elevator key, and combustible materials in an equipment room -- were fixed in subsequent re-inspections.
An inspector noted corroded outside sprinkler heads that needed to be replaced on at least one nearby building, but not at the complex that burned in this weekend’s fire, Saunders said. The business was in the process of gathering contractor bids for the repair, he said.
A sprinkler room key was missing from a knox box, a metal box mounted on the building to give emergency responders access to businesses without forced entry, according to the inspection report. Saunders said firefighters don’t typically use the boxes in emergency situations.
The city and United Way of South Hampton Roads have set up a fund at UnitedWaySHR.org for those who want to donate money. Donations of physical items are not being accepted.
Family and friends trying to locate those affected by the fire can e-mail RobertHall@BoydHomes.com or call 757-275-7696 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
Copyright 2017 The Virginian-Pilot