City inspector: Fire code violations corrected at The Ralston

Fire code violations at The Ralston in downtown Columbus have been corrected with a new system installed in the 103-year-old building, city officials said.

PF Ralston LLC, owner of the 211 12th St. building, survived a series of extensions dating back to June before city inspectors and fire officials approved the new system before the Thanksgiving holiday. Residents were faced with possible relocation if the life-saving repairs weren’t completed.

John C. Hudgison, director of Inspections and Code for the Columbus Consolidated Government, said the new fire alarm system is operational, and officials at downtown Fire Station No. 1 of the Columbus Fire & Emergency Medical Services know how it works.

“The life safety issues of the fire alarm was our priority,” Hudgison said Thursday. “It’s not great to be cold or to be hot, but when you are sleeping overnight there was no way to notify you to get out. That was a major fire concern.”

Fire Marshal Ricky Shores said officials were in the building for three or four days before an acceptance test was approved. “On the main stuff for the fire alarm, it is working properly,” the fire marshal said. “They had to gut it out and do it from scratch.”

Building a new system required an architect to design an alarm system in the 10-story building. It is complete with new low-voltage wiring and meets Americans With Disabilities Act requirements with a certain decibel level to hear warnings. “It was done the proper way,” Shores said. “As a result, it is a much safer structure.”

The building had gone too long with the failing alarm system. “They really didn’t have a choice,” Shores said. “They did the right thing and got it squared away.”

With the new system installed, Shores said the building still faces an annual inspection to check the fire alarm and sprinkler system. Inspectors also will look for typical housekeeping items such as improper storage and fire hazards in the basement. “It’s just too important of a building not to,” Shores said.

The city also will continue a bi-monthly visit to the building to monitor maintenance issues. An inspector will check leaking faucets, clogged toilets and other issues.

“I actually have an inspector to go over there every two weeks and kind of sit in the lobby and talk to management staff in case some people don’t have a way to call,” Hudgison said. “If there is anything in there in violation, we will go up there and write it up. That is ongoing. We continue to do that.”

The fire alarm system was repaired after officials set a separate deadline on the air conditioning system during the summer. With lower temperatures, a couple of residents complained about the heat. “We just traded one problem for another,” Hudgison said. “We’ve gotten a couple calls on that, and they have remedied those we talked to them on.”

This story was originally published November 30, 2017 at 7:32 PM with the headline "City inspector: Fire code violations corrected at The Ralston."