Columbia Fire Department: All complexes will meet fire code

All Columbia apartment complexes will be up to fire code by the deadline next week, according to the Columbia Fire Department.

In December of 2012, The Columbia Fire Department sent notices to 30 complexes in the city, telling them they had one year to bring their buildings up to the current city codes.

In April of 2013, a fire at Ash Street Place Apartments left a building uninhabitable. The complex was one of those 30 that were not up to code.

In December 2013, eight complexes still had not installed manual pull stations, but because all complexes had submitted a plan, the city extended the deadline to April 1.

And now, one week out, fire officials said they believe everyone will be up to code by next Tuesday.

“There’s one apartment complex that’s still working as we speak to get their alarm system installed, but everyone has complied,” said Battalion Chief Brad Fraizer with the Columbia Fire Department. “We’re confident they’re going to have theirs done.”

Fraizer said the fire at Country Club Apartments over the weekend is exactly why they have fire codes and enforce them.

“We got really lucky with this apartment fire over the weekend and no one was injured,” he said. “That property was compliant with the fire code.”

Once all the systems are installed, the fire department will then do annual inspections to make sure the alarms and fire extinguishers are being serviced properly.

Fraizer said bringing all complexes up to compliance was a big step forward for Columbia.

“This was a very important initiative,” he said. “The residents of Columbia, as well as our visitors, it’s really important that we keep them safe. This apartment manual pull station compliance issue was big. It’s going a long ways to make our community safer.