A recent online survey of residents of 3003 Van Ness found that some apartment doors like self-closing fire-safety mechanisms, a possible violation of the DC Housing Code. In the case of a fire, the mechanism is designed to automatically close an apartment door after the resident exits, slowing the possible spread of the fire.

So far, 44 residents have completed the survey. Of those, 34 report that their units lack self-closing fire-safety doors.

These findings are particularly troubling given the recent fires that were deliberately set in a hallway and a stairwell of 3003 Van Ness last week. This follows a previous arson attempt in 2023.

Due to the recent arson attempt, the tenant association plans to renew its efforts to get more residents to complete the survey so it can be determined which units need self-closing doors.

After recent inspections of a large number of units at 3003 Van Ness, Equity Residential added self-closing mechanisms on some doors. As seen in the photo below, they do not appear to be prohibitively expensive devices.

It isn’t too late for residents of 3003 Van Ness to complete the online fire door survey.