FDNY building inspection?

I own a two family brownstone and my tenant (garden apt) just told me the FDNY stopped by while I was our and were trying to gain access for an annual building inspection and needed to get into the basement. I’ve been here two years and never heard from the FDNY, and I’m not aware of any standing annual inspection (no sprinklers). My tenant said they appeared to be from the FDNY but didnt grant them access (she can’t actuall access the basement anyway). She said their response was quite gruff and unprofessional. They left no paperwork or info for follow up. What’s the rule for allowing access to a building for such unannounced Inspections? It was clearly not any emergency (and not presented as such). Thoughts?

rigasbalsam

in Fire 12 years and 11 months ago

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chrissie | 12 years and 11 months ago

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3 Family and above = Multiple Dwelling in NYC  —  only Multiple Dwellings are subject to routine FDNY inspections  —  1 and 2 Family are NOT subject  — NEVER ALLOW ANY AGENCY TO INSPECT WHEN NOT REQUIRED IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR GOOD INTENTIONS

brokelin | 12 years and 11 months ago

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About 10 years ago, I answered the door when an FDNY inspector came to our brownstone coop.  They told us to patch some holes in the wall that separated the boiler room from the rest of the unfinished basement, and to remove some old wood some idiot had piled in the corner of the boiler room.  I believe they wrote us a violation for this, which I could cure in something like 90 days, and did, by sending in the form stating that we had done the steps to comply with the orders and cured the violation.  I don’t know if he checked for the oil tank cerfiticate we got every two years, but  if he did, it was there on the wall in a picture frame.  My downstairs neighbor said she just didn’t answer the door when they came. I was glad I did, as I wanted our building and boiler room to be safe.  And it got the neighbor to remove the hundred year old flammable wood molding from the boiler room.  Better safe than sorry, I say.

rigasbalsam | 12 years and 11 months ago

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Thanks for the repsonses… I spoke with my cousin who is a recently retired FDNY fireman. He said all firehouses have old index cards (some VERY old) with the last inspection date on it. They do in fact have “annual” inspections but are rarely done every year. When it’s been a while, they may stop by just to see whats been happening in the house over the past few years.
He said the most likely causes for such an unannounced inspection would be:
– Checking out the basement to see that the boiler is clear of debris a good distance around it
– Making sure there are no illegal apartments in the basement / making sure the house isnt being used as an illegal SRO and heavily chopped up
– Chekcing to make sure the hallways are clear of bikes, etc
– Check to make sure smoke detectors are installed around the house
– If someone called in a complaint, they would show up to investiagte (but would have left a large notice on the house or some sort of follow up paperwork
Hope this helps!

brucef | 12 years and 11 months ago

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If you have an oil tank there is a required two year inspection during which he checks if you have your “paid” certificate displayed. Also, the local firehouse sends out their regular fire fighters through the neigborhood’s buildings to compare their rescue database with actual conditions. When they are dispatched on a call, they have the capacity to pull up a schematic that will tell them what to expect in terms of layout. These firefighters are not looking to trigger violations, they are trying to save lives. They will say to you, make sure the tenant puts his bike inside his apartment, rather than block the hall. But they do not write violations.

housepoor | 12 years and 11 months ago

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A year or two ago the FDNY showed up unannounced. They wanted to do an inspection of the roof to make sure there were no obstructions. In and out in 10 minutes.

pmmtenement | 12 years and 11 months ago

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I also had a 3 guys or so come from the local fire house a few years back. They also shared that they were looking to get an overview of the building layout prior to an emergency.

elbow | 12 years and 11 months ago

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A couple of years back a crew from the local fire house drove up in their truck, knocked on the door and walked through our building – hallways and boiler room. It wasn’t for an inspection, nothing like the sprinkler guys with their incessant signage requirements. It seemed like they were going from building to building just so the crew could get the lay of the land.

JoeBushwick | 12 years and 11 months ago

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I’ve owned a 6 family for five years and never had an inspection from FDNY.  I know when I changed the boiler from oil to gas, I had to submit some FDNY paperwork to verify that the oil tank was gone.  Not sure if the tank would have triggered some sort of regular inspection.

dylan621 | 12 years and 11 months ago

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That’s going to be a problem if the FDNY really comes around doing inspections b/c I know the gas grill on my deck is a no-no and so is the garment rack on my landing.  Has anyone actually had a random inspection for a residential building?