38B-073 227 South St unsafe 2018-12-14-1 (2)City of Northampton
Massachusetts
DEPARTMENT OF BUILDING INSPECTIONS 212 Main Street ● Municipal Building Northampton, MA 01060
INSPECTOR
December 14, 2018 Danielle McKahn 32 Perkins Ave. Northampton, MA 01060 Re: 227 South Street 31D-120
Ms. McKahn I inspected the building at 227 South Street today. Preliminary demolition is underway on the
first floor to investigate and evaluate the structure before renovations are begun. I was not aware that other apartments in the building were still occupied. There is effectively no fire separation between the area under construction and the upper apartments because the sheet rock has been removed, exposing the framing. There are also many openings between the floor framing and
the upper wall cavities. Additionally, it appears that the apartments only have access to a single means of egress, and the smoke detection system has been removed from the first floor. The building cannot be safely occupied in this condition. The apartments must be vacated as soon as possible (refer to the Massachusetts State Building Code, sections 102.6, 102.8, 114.1, 116.1 and 901.3). Continued work on the building is prohibited until the building is no longer occupied, except as necessary to secure the work area.
Please contact the building department as soon as possible with a timeline.
Respectfully, Louis Hasbrouck
Building Commissioner City of Northampton (413) 587-1240 lhasbrouck@northamptonma.gov cc Northampton Fire Rescue Jeff Penn Gabriel Shippee