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.”