The second story HERE showed how one of the units was actually condemned. BOTH stories came directly from people who lived in these units.
Now, GET THIS. The Condo Association is now claiming that Salisbury News LIED. Oh, it gets even better. Guess what happened next. If you guessed that they had ANOTHER pipe burst AGAIN from freezing you'd be right. Yes, on Thursday it happened again.
So we published our story early in the week and we criticized WBOC, WMDT and the Daily Times because they had NOT covered the story. Well, give them some credit because they actually, (or should I say, finally) showed up THURSDAY to do a story. WMDT was first to arrive and when they came into the lobby the Condo Association threw them off the property.
Some time later, somehow, WBOC was able to get in and actually started filming in one of the condos when in walks the condo Association demanding they get off the property.
Salisbury News has now come to learn that there is an investigation going on right now through the Fire Marshal's Office. It's been reported there was an issue with the sprinkler system before they got the final OK to start selling units and from what we've heard, (not confirmed) some are saying someone just signed off on it and it actually may not have been corrected.
Nevertheless, get this. Because there is NO fire sprinkler system in operation at this location, IF the Condo Association does NOT do a "Fire Walk" in the complex every 20 minutes, 24 HOURS A DAY they want every single person removed from the building. Again, from what we've been told the Fire Walk has not been done properly and the Fire Marshall was called in once again and gave a final warning.
Someone else called me today and informed me that former Salisbury Firefighter, Council President and Mayoral Candidate Gary Comegys now lives in the complex. This person flat out said to me, I wonder why Comegys boys at the Fire Department couldn't turn off the water?
Salisbury News has learned the Condo Association will hold a meeting in reference to this situation at the Wicomico Library on Superbowl Sunday. Stay Tuned!
I'd LOVE to know how Salisbury News could have LIED to anyone, since BOTH stories came directly from owners of the units in the building. We provided photos AND video.
46 comments:
Comegys was powerless. He was a volunteer at Station 2. Everybody knows the paid guys at Station 16 rule everything.
Well I'm a sprinkler contractor and I can tell you if the NFPA13 sprinkler system is inoperable - then the building ought to be condemned and shutdown. The Fire Marshall is right in requiring the building to be condemned. If he doesn't then he opens up the city/county to potential liability. I know it is not what the owners want to hear but the law is what it is.
You can also call Surefire Fire Protection and the guy in charge will tell you that if it the fire system ain't working then the building should be condemned. If it remains to be occupied then it is considered to be unprotected - thus in violation of the municipal code.
Another brew river type place would have been better at that local anyway..no one wanted those eyesores
Why do you need a sprinkler system in that building? Because some dumbocrat passed an ordinance saying so? There are many multi story buildings without sprinklers. Does the multi-billion dollar SBY fire department have ladder trucks and fireboat to deal with structure fires or is this just an indication that even with all that equipment, they can't handle such an event.
Gary Comegys was on the city council when this building was built. Bill Gordy was assistant fire chief under David See. Gary Comegys made sure his buddies at Station 16 got everything they wanted and then some. Check the records and see who signed off on that building. All 3 are now gone with the wind and lookie here, lookie here. Their shady dealings are coming out in the light, at the expense of others.
Well if they do decide to fix those frozen pipes - I just saw the news and another Artic blast is headed our way. It is suppose to be colder here than it is in Alaska - so the chances of freezing again, will probably occur.
As a sprinkler contractor - the preaction system - (compressor clapper valve) - must of been deactivated or else the system would not have charged up with water. Of course - the pipes could have froze where they enter the condo complex at ground level. I really do not know because I have not seen the facility.
Joe, we all know that photos and video are easily faked. Besides, you've never heard of "waterfall lighting"? Jeeze! And eyewitness tenants lie constantly, and never should be believed, even when a City of Salisbury condemned notice, (easily counterfeited) is shown on a door. How do we know where that door is anyway?
Your story has to be a hoax designed to stir up crap!
/sarc off! LOL!
I say send some FF to break-up the ice at the wicomico river bulkhead. Then, take that new Fireboat and park it right in back of the Riverside condos and station a couple of Firefighters 24/7 at the location. With the amount of City taxes they are paying at Riverside, I think the City could afford the temporary extra expense.
I haven't seen any of this on television news. Seems like a pretty big story to me.
To 8:22 - I don' think the developer wants any of the adverse publicity. I don't believe all of the units have been sold yet. The project has lingered on for many years now and in my estimation it was an economic disaster.
Lord only knows what their water bill will be after those ruptured pipes. I expect there are going to be some mad condo owners next quarter.
anonymous 8:32, that's not what I was told. I heard just recently the balance of units had all been sold. Harkins, (I'm told) bought 4 Penthouse units within the past two weeks.
Harkins built the place. So he bought the units from himself????
Check the records.
The city of Salisbury has yet to do anything about the serious mold conditions at Merrifield Apartments and many residents have had to leave do to serious illness brought on by mold exposure.
I wouldn't expect NSCC or the plumbing inspectors to do very much at River Place either!
Somebody's scamming something! Time to check who owns what in that building.
500 riverside
500, sorry
City inspectors are worthless. Along Merrfield is Crosswinds, they have yet to enforce any fines onto this associates for the stagnant pool they have.
They are all going to be turned into section 8 for the illegals O'Malley has provided driver's licenses to.
Oh what a tangled web we weave.
The developer isn't necessarily the one who builds the structure. A developer can just be an individual, who purchases property, then hires a contractor to build something.
*cough* insurance *cough*
You're a "news" report? no - you are an opinion and partial truth generator - Check your facts please.
The news reporter was not thrown off the property nor was he asked to leave. When he discovered that the individual who has been serving as your "source" was a renter who had no renters insurance and whose dispute was with the landlord and the landlord's property manager and not the condo nor the condo's property manger, they said they needed to check facts and talk to these other individuals before they could do any story. (something you have not done.)
Yes, the pipes burst and yes, there are people who are now facing difficult situations because of this, but only one person out of the 42 units in the building has had this much difficulty and has had their unit condemned - and most of the problem is because he has no renters insurance and is arguing with his landlord. A number of the residents have offered to help those whose units are damaged, including the mom and her children (who are now in a new unit on the other side of the building and who were moved by their landlord).
The second pipe that broke was in the parking garage and was due to a failed heating unit. The alarm that was beeping had nothing to to with the sprinklers but came from sensors that dealt with some part of the system that monitors water levels in the bottom of the elevator shaft. Perhaps you should contact someone from the condo board to get information and not rely on one individual who is very angry and has an axe to grind with his landlord.
While a number of people are now going through a tough situation, there is really not much of a controversy here. Quite a few homes and businesses had problems with pipes freezing over the past weeks, I don't see you dragging them and their homes through the mud. The units are all sold, the building is private property, owned by the Condo Association and the individuals who bought the units. Leave these folks along and let them get on with their lives.
anonymous 8:03, While I'd love to have a conversation with the Family removed from their Condo, your assumption is flat out incorrect. I'll not go one by one denying WHO I spoke with as everyone knows I do NOT reveal my sources to anyone. However, for the sake of clearing the good name of a victim, (in this case) I'll at least say it was not them.
Obviously YOU were not one of the people affected by the flooding and I hardly think anyone should take this situation as lightly as you are. I hope EVERYONE in that complex retains excellent contractors who have experience like Royal Plus and ServPro, (SP?). Take it from past experience, mold is a very bad issue. Again, clearly YOU have never experienced living through such a mess, I have.
So YOU take this as lightly as you like, I'll stand up for those in which I know will be dealing with major issues for probably the next year.
It sounds to me like what 8:03 said is valid. While I will not go so far as to say the tenant had an ax to grind with their landlord. I think maybe the tenant was upset (rightly so with any major interruption of life) from not knowing what to do, who to turn to and without answers because usually at the beginning of these situation it's chaos. The OC area has had a run on pipes freezing. I know of someone who had an emergency and only plumber they could find available was from up near Dover.
All that water in the electrical is sure to start a fire
The Condo Board should read The Maryland Condominium Act. Specifically, 41 § 11-114. REQUIRED INSURANCE COVERAGE;
RECONSTRUCTION.
And then get busy fixing the place before they get sued.
If it is a condo building there is no landlord,everyone is an owner with an association and building insurance to cover the loss.
So we don't have an Edmond Fitzgerald moment I'll make comment #30.I never liked that complex.Once I inquired into them and had a bad feeling about it so I went elsewhere.
The condo association is responsible for all repairs to the units and common elements. They are not responsible for improvements, betterments to the units and personal property...The association has to fix the damage to the units and then argue about who faces litigation (if anyone) later on.
If he is subletting the unit from an owner, that is where there would be a landlord scenario.
There are times, that the owners actually have to pay for renovations and restoration. The assessment will be split among all the owners if the insurance coverage is not sufficient or if it is not a provision on the policy.
9:16 and where do you think all the money from the condo association comes from? The owners. And if there is not enough money in reserve, then the balance remaining is split among the owners and they have to pay for it.
9:16-The owners are responsible for the repairs of their units. I know. I own 2 residential condo units and 7 commercial.
9:31 The owners and the Condo Association are one and the same. 9:36 read the Maryland Condo Act...the law is crystal clear about responsibility in this situation. I have managed over 200 condos in MD for 20 years.
Bravo Joe for your response to 8:03, regardless of where the family is, how they were able to get there, they were out of their unit for over a week according to the story from last week. Being put out of your home is a huge problem. Thank you for sticking up for those who were the victims. My family had this experience in the past when we lived in Ohio and it was an awful mess. Every thing in their life was turned upside down, I was in college and had to come home to help out. Easy for someone to judge when they have not been through it. It is the landlords job to put tenants up in another place, especially since they were in a hotel for so long. Why wouldn't someone be upset about this, and how dare another point fingers at who is advising you of this story..The other person was put completely out of a unit and it is being pointed at them for not having renters insurance? Renters insurance is going to fix the unit or pay them for the structure rebuild?????? Not hardly!!!!! The Condo association is worried about the reputation of the building it certainly sounds like reading 8:03 post. They are obviously a party living there, still in their unit online making judgement. What did they do to help out those in need? Cover up the story you are trying to tell? Did they find these people a place to live? Did they move the stuff? Offer them a home? Help out, or cover up?
What was the problem with the news trying to report on a building with leaks, did any other structures around town run them off? Perhaps its not the lack of the news reporting but the cover up from the owners not allowing any coverage. Why did the other complexes in town with issues allow reporting and for others to help out those who lost their home? Yet this condo unit worries more about covering up a bad structure and keeping the media out of the issue than the mold and displacement of their residents?
What about the mold issues that existed here before this? I have a brother who did a bathroom remodel in the building that was mold infested....Joe,maybe the readers should read all the stories, sum it up for themselves...Good of you to stick up for the victims..Let the finger pointing begin... An axe to grind, wow.... 8:03, you need to get some morality in your life. Go work at a homeless shelter for a few days and then report back.
9:47 uh yea, that's what we said but thank you for reiterating.
9:31 The only payment made from reserves would be the policy deductible..The rest should be paid for by insurance unless there was gross negligence on behalf of the Board or management.
Interesting how the adjacent property is announced as sold-- and voila within a week the fire suppression system expert suggests the system was not in the appropriate mode that allowed it to freeze over --
just saying it seems something is always rotten in Denmark -- and calls for a failed project to be condemned would certainly benefit the new owner next door
Before anyone jumps to a conclusion the fire marshal is right to allow the residents to stay and use a "fire watch" so the residents can stay. I am sure the alarm system is still working outside of the sprinkler devices that are shut off. I know of 1/2 dozen places between Pocomoke and OC that are in the same predicament. Buildings that have not frozen in 15 years are breaking now. And before you go blaming the sprinkler contractor think about the general contractor or insulator that was responsible for freeze protection-sprinkler contractors exclude that part of the job.
You could also look at it the other way and say over 99% of the pipes on the eastern shore didn't burst. As a former inspector this should have never passed. In Maryland the code requires all sprinkler pipes to be insulated and kept above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The insulation looks to be little to none and under the pipes. Proper insulation would go over the pipes. Also, depending on the space it may have been necessary to install hot air fans to prevent freezing. While the builder may be off the hook since it passed inspection the maintenance company should have caught this insulation issue if it is in an open space. Building owners hire these companies for the expertise and for legal liability reasons. I feel bad for these people but with the sprinklers out they should leave until it’s fixed. They need to be thinking safety first.
The Sprinkler system and alarm system were both completely out of service..What say you?? Thus the fire watch...NOTHING was working... People should have been allowed to leave and be placed elsewhere for their safety.How much crap can one place deal with...The whole place needs to be looked at and reinspected...Riverplace Danger Zone
It is almost full. Somebody wanted them.
Because they save lives. It is a fact.
Wonder if the people who are taking the building down across the river are aware that the same problems exist in the Riverside Condo building. Perhaps a new inspection is what the city should do to ensure safety of those living there now.
The condo board is online for all to see. Dr. Kathleen Geipe is on board...surprise surprise a mean, nasty woman who has zero tolerance for life. Did she help out those in need? Ask others in town what a gem she is.
Anonymus 8:03:
You may want to check your facts before posting false information. Do you really think Renter's Insurance is going to pay for the repairs due to a fault outside of the unit the insurance would have been covering??? I don't think so. Now, if the leak happened because of something in the unit, like a sink clogged up and overflowing, then yes, maybe they would cover the cost of repairs. All that renter's insurance would have covered in this case would have maybe been personal belongings that were damaged due to the flooding. So you really think the news man was not interested in the story because the tenant didn't have renter's insurance??? Please!
Onto the next... Even if there was a family moved right down the hall, they were still inconvenienced and had to move all of there stuff out of there home, whether it be 5 units away or across town, it still is a pain to have to move EVERYTHING out and for the lady to have to find a place each night for her 3 kids to stay and be safe. From what I'm guessing from your comment, it doesn't sound like you did a lot of anything to try and help either family. Have you even asked them if they needed anything or checked on them?? Probably not... It just sounds like you couldn't wait to get on this feed and try and make both look bad. Well now you're the one looking bad.
Finally... I must also second what Joe and Anonymous 10:48 said!
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