The borough can't react as quickly as a private individual can. He said some of the problems could be fixed with little expense or labor. We find these kinds of violations in all buildings. It boggles my mind that this has become such a big deal for some people. The violations at both buildings are typical of those uncovered during inspections, most of them concerning housekeeping and maintenance.
Towns are generally responsible for enforcing the fire code in their own buildings.
Although they are expected to treat municipal buildings the same as privately owned buildings, including the documenting of any violations, municipal fire officials say they rarely resort to fines against their own governments. New Jersey enacted its fire code, among the nation's toughest, in 1985. The code requires that certain types of buildings be inspected every year for violations, but a six-month investigation by The Record this year found that many towns and the state itself do not fulfill that responsibility. Kaufman said he and the council had asked a borough engineer to evaluate the violations and suggest a course of action to correct them. The mayor and council plan to discuss the issue at their Jan. 8 meeting.