VNSTA again asks Equity Residential to fix the fire alarms and address fire safety issues

Residents of 3003 Van Ness have for a long time endured frequent fire alarms at 3003 Van Ness — mostly false alarms. The alarms have gone off both day and night, sometimes several times a week. While the situation has improved somewhat in recent months, a serious problem persists.

Last night, beginning at about 12:30 am, the fire alarms sounded constantly and then intermittently until after 3:00 am. There apparently was no Equity Residential employee on site at the 625-unit building to provide information to residents.

Because of the chronic fire safety issues at 3003 Van Ness, the tenant association sent a letter today to new General Manager Dan Burkes, asking him to take action to improve the situation. The letter was cc’ed to Equity Residential Senior Vice President Frances Nolan and to Equity Residential Senior Regional Manager Stacey Aguiar.

Toxic hazard discovered at 3003 Van Ness

During the week of August 28, 2023, residents of 3003 Van Ness complained about the smell of gasoline in the G2-level garage and in a stairwell of the West building.

The DC Fire Department investigated and found a leaking drum in the loading dock of 3003 Van Ness. Efforts were made to soak up the leaking substance. The DC Hazmat unit has been notified.

Equity Residential management failed to remediate the spill prior to the long Labor Day weekend, during which the loading dock door was left open to allow fumes to escape the building. Management has not told residents whether the situation poses a fire safety hazard and has not announced its timeline for cleaning up the spill.

Fire department report suggests deliberate gasoline spill at 3003 Van Ness

A report by DC Fire and EMS, obtained via a FOIA by the Van Ness South Tenants Association, suggests that a gasoline leak at 3003 Van Ness on August 20, 2023, may have been deliberate.

The report states that residents of 3003 Van Ness complained about a strong smell of gas in the West building of 3003 Van Ness, which was confirmed by the DC Fire crew on the scene. Firefighters found that the odor seemed to emanate from a room on the penthouse level marked “West Back Machine Room,” “Cooling Tower Access.”

According to the official report:

“There was also a strong odor of gasoline coming from inside the room. Once the cardboard boxes and plywood were removed from behind the door, Engine 28's crew made entry into the room where a gas can was located along with what appeared to be vandalism to some of the room's contents. “

It appears that an individual may have been arrested in connection with this incident, but retrieval of arrest records is pending.

Members of the Van Ness South Tenants Association are particularly concerned about the gasoline incident because in recent months, residents have been plagued with many fire alarms, as many as 2-3 per week. Management has claimed that these alarms likely were pranks. However, the alarms have sounded so often, day and night, that many residents no longer bother to leave their apartments when the alarms go off. If DC Fire had not arrived on the scene on August 20th and discovered the apparent gasoline spill, the results coul d have been catastrophic.

On August 29th, the tenant association sent a letter to Equity Residential expressing residents strong concerns about these issues.

As of August 31st, Equity Residential has sent no communication to residents of 3003 Van Ness about the gasoline incident.

VNSTA sends letter to Equity management regarding gasoline incident and fire safety

The Van Ness South Tenants Association today sent a letter to Josh Luper, Equity Residential property manager for 3003 Van Ness, regarding a recent incident in which an intruder poured gasoline in a stairwell.

The letter begins:

“I am writing to express our deep concern with fire safety conditions at 3003 Van Ness. 

As you know, for months residents have endured very frequent fire alarms, as many as two or three a week, day and night. These have occurred so often that many residents don’t bother to leave their apartments when the fire alarms go off. 

Equity Residential has sometimes claimed that there was a minor problem e.g., with the boilers. At other times Equity has claimed that someone pulled the alarms as a prank – if this is true, it is concerning that the company hasn’t been able to identify the perpetrator(s) after so many months.

This situation not only is a severe nuisance to residents – dramatically lowering the value of their apartments by the constant disruption – but it also presents a severe safety hazard. The danger is compounded by the fact that the elevators at 3003 Van Ness are frequently out or order, preventing residents, particularly the elderly and disabled, from quickly exiting the building. 

To make matters worse, the tenant association recently learned from the DC Fire Department that the alarm systems at 3003 Van Ness had been disconnected from the call centers that are supposed to relay emergency calls to the DC Fire Department. Residents assume that when alarms sound at 3003 Van Ness, the Fire Department will soon be on its way. However, it turns out that it hasn’t even been called.”

See the entire letter at this link.

Letter to Equity Residential Senior VP Frances Nolan re: fire hazard at 3003 Van Ness

The Van Ness South Tenants Association sent a letter Sunday evening to Equity Residential Senior Vice President Frances Nolan, regarding the spate of fire alarms that have been going off at 3003 Van Ness several times weekly for months.

Fire alarms have gone off so frequently at 3003 Van Ness, both day and night, that many residents don’t leave the building when they go off.

The tenant association and individual residents have complained many times to Equity Residential management about the problem with constant fire alarms and also about the lack of security at 3003 Van Ness.

Equity Residential’s failure to address such problems has caused fury among residents.