WTNH
A City Point condominium complex association is awaiting results from asbestos testing before it can demolish 13 units destroyed last week by a three-alarm fire.
The Dec. 26 fire, believed to have originated in a fire place chimney between the first and second floor of the Harbour Landing Condominium’s Building C, displaced 32 people.
The destroyed units were expected to be demolished last Friday or Monday. But that timeline was halted after the state Health Department requested that the units be tested for asbestos.
According to a memo sent to condo owners by property manager Ken Carney, and obtained by the New Haven Independent, an asbestos inspector was hired and finished the inspection Saturday.
Carney said as soon as the health department signs off on the asbestos tests, demolition will commence. It is estimated that a rebuild of the building could take six to eight months.
Carney said in the memo that the results of much of the testing have come back negative for asbestos.
Though the building was built in the late 1980s, Carney said, state law requires that any building slated to be demolished must test for asbestos to prove that they are not present. If asbestos is present, the demolition process would be much more difficult, expensive and time consuming, he added.
“Not to mention,” he added, ” we do not want to be known as the community with asbestos in our homes.”
Building C was the only of the four buildings that make up the condo complex to be impacted by the fire. But Building B tested positive for soot and is being cleaned, according to the memo.
As a safety precaution, residents of all the condos are being asked not to use their fireplace to burn wood or duroflame logs.
“A condition has been discovered that if it exists elsewhere could result in a fire,” Carney wrote. “Do not use your fireplace under any circumstances.”
I'm pretty certain this is the regulatory red tape speak of when people talk about governmental interference and over regulation. Asbestos was a restricted building material and all but banned in buildings by 1978. A building built after 1980 shouldn't have to be inspected for asbestos. This is a waste of time and money by building owners. But I do understand the desire for uniform procedure and safety precautions. This just seems overboard.