Annual Fire Inspection: November 9 - November 20, 2026

Special Newsletter: Fire System Inspection Notice

·      CLICK HERE for printable notice

The Annual Fire system inspection has been scheduled for November 9 starting at 9AM, through November 20 by ARK, our service provider, with assistance from PCAM and the Association. This is a requirement of the NFPA and local fire safety code.

·       Your cooperation and patience is appreciated.

·       What will be inspected?

o   The following will be tested and/or inspected; 
-      Sprinklers (some in closets)
-      Fire Alarms
-      Backflow
-      Fire Extinguishers
-      Fire Pumps
-      Emergency Lights

·       The inspection requires that every sounder/strobe is checked for proper operation.

·       Upon entry of every unit, the inspection team inspects every sprinkler head.

·       Sprinkler heads are located throughout our units. Every room and large closet has one.

·       Sprinkler head concealers are sometimes painted and caulked. This is a violation of the fire code as paint, spackling, and caulk affect the concealer cap from separating in the event of a fire. Seventy (70) sprinkler concealer caps were adulterated and replaced by ARK technicians in 2026. The Association pays for the replacements. This year the Association will back-charge owners for replacement concealer caps.

·       175 of 177 have provided keys or codes. Thank you for your cooperation.

·       ARK will be providing a “Deficiency Report” for the Association to develop an Action Plan.

·       The Association will inspect units for expired smoke alarms. Those unit owners will be cited and asked to replace the expired smoke alarms. Many are twenty-years old.

2027 – Inspections

The following inspections do not require unit access.

February - Quarterly Sprinkler Inspection

May– Semi-Annual Sprinkler Inspection

August– Quarterly Sprinkler Inspection

November (excluding weekend) – Annual Inspection –

 Do you know where the fires extinguishers for the common areas are located?

 Do you know where the alarm pull-boxes are located?

 Do you have a fire extinguisher in your condo?

Fire Alarm Pull Box

Common Area Fire Extingusher

How about those Keys?

Dear Neighbors,

As you know, the Association has been asking for unit keys for the past two years. I want to thank all of you that have responded.  We started last year with 45 missing keys. As of August 29, we only need 7 more unit keys to be 100% compliant.

If you have not been contacted, you may assume that there is a key for your unit in the lockbox.

Why do we need your keys? There are two basic reasons.

Emergency access: Medical access or equipment failure. There have been three incidents of water damage in the past two years when management could not access units where a water was flowing out of control. Simply put, no one was home and no key was in the lockbox.

Inspections: Every year in November, an annual fire inspection is conducted. The inspection requires access to every unit. Strobe/sounders and all sprinkler heads are checked. Units that are inaccessible are listed in a deficiency report. The Association pays for return visits to all inaccessible units.

How are the keys secured?

Each building has a lockbox in a closet with a dead bolt. They are now stored in an orderly fashion and tagged. These lockboxes have been recently organized to reduce the possibility of loss.

BEFORE

AFTER organized by floor

submitted by George Breig

Are you protected from Fire?

Expired Smoke Alarms

Smoke alarms save lives. Protect yourself and your neighbors.

Several owners have still not replaced their EXPIRED smoke alarms. 

During our November Fire inspection, Unit Owners will be cited for non-code compliant smoke alarms. The current code also requires Carbon Monoxide Sensors.

This is what a non-compliant smoke alarm looks like. They have a 9-volt battery compartment. The newer smoke alarm units have a 10-year battery and do not have a sliding cover. If you remove the alarm device, you will see its date stamp.

The Firex smoke alarm shown is stamped "2006 SEP 18".

9 volt battery compartment on Expired Smoke Alarm

Most Electricians are familiar with the Current Code and make certain of compliance.