In Response To Bronx Apartment Building Tragedy, Paterson, N.J. To Re-Inspect All High-Rises, Mid-Rises, And Multiple Dwellings
PATERSON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- In the wake of the deadly fire in the Bronx, the third largest city in New Jersey is re-inspecting its buildings.
The city of Paterson has nearly 40 high-rise buildings.
"Paterson is not a high-rise city. We're not like New York City. We have a lot of mid-rise buildings," Paterson Fire Department Chief Brian McDermott said.
All buildings have fire inspections yearly, but now all high-rise, mid-rise and multiple-dwelling buildings will be inspected again, CBS2's Alice Gainer reported Wednesday.
"One of the things we're gonna check is the fire alarm system," Paterson fire official Capt. Herb Eggers said.
CBS2 tagged along.
"Door closers for stairwells and for apartment doors, they look like this right here. These automatically close the doors, so when you let go of the door, you escape. The door is gonna slowly close and it's gonna latch," Eggers said.
They're also checking smoke barrier doors.
"If you see these doors, these doors automatically close when the fire alarm goes off. They're connected with magnetic locks, and these close automatically to keep the smoke out of that elevator lobby," Eggers said.
Some residents Gainer spoke to said they normally feel pretty safe in their building.
"Constantly they check. Any little thing that goes wrong they're right on it right away and that's why I feel so safe here," Ramona Wilkerson said.
"They have safety doors and everything on my floor, automatic doors besides my apartment," Tyrone Smith added.
There is also going to be an aggressive fire safety campaign and reminders about space heater safety.
"This is the time to shed light on it. While we're all hurting, but I think we all want some change," McDermott said.
Make your fire escape plan now if you haven't already, but hope you never need to use it.
