Fire Inspection Requested by FI - Need Advice

[stratz1081]

Hi

I purchased a non-conforming triplex that was converted from a House a number of years back. I’m at renewal and in the process a re-fi the property with a new lender. They asked for a fire inspection.

I’m not opposed to the inspection, but don’t want to open a huge can of worms that will cost me more then the equity that I’m pulling out.

I am all for a safe environment, but want to make an informed decision and I don’t know where to turn to get additional information, or don’t even know what type of questions I should be asking. When I bought the property I wasn’t asked for a fire inspection.

What I’m am looking for is information or a checklist that I can use to go through my property to assess if I should cancel the re-fi or go ahead with the inspection. In addition, do I need the fire marshal to do the inspection or can a license company do it for me.

Is there a resource that I can tap into to get the information I need to make a good decision

The property is in St. Catharines.

Any insight would be grateful appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[housingrental]

Ideally you would have gotten a fire inspection prior to purchase and an ESA on too
You should be doing this for ALL multi-unit properties
As an owner I`d pro-actively do this even if a lender wasn`t requiring it
However if it has not been inspected before you will likely be facing some upgrading costs.
A few common ones - which might or might not be applicable for you:
Fire rating on ceilings - continuous ceilings - and doors and walls between units
Auto door closers
Interconnected smoke alarms
Second means of eggress on basement level or attic level
Wiring requirements - amount of sockets available in an area, grounding, reverse polarity issues, changing inappropriate wiring (like a light in hallway that turns off a light in a bathroom, etc..)

 

[Pheenix]

[QUOTE (stratz1081 @ Sep 7 2010, 10:15 PM) I purchased a non-conforming triplex that was converted from a House a number of years back.
Just to be clear, is this a `legal non-conforming` (which usually means the rules for the area changed after it was built or altered) or do you mean something entirely different?

Did you or your lawyer check for permits and compliance with the permits at the time of purchase? If so, it should have gone through a fire inspection at the time of conversion, but don`t assume so.

Depending on the answers, and armed with Adam`s preliminary checklist (to which I would add the stairwells themselves may require closing in, if they are open, or additional drywall), have someone you trust and is knowledgable about construction do a walk through the building with you to identify those points - make your decision from there.

If there are problems, you need to develop a plan to correct them, don`t just ignore them. Failure to make such plans, once you are aware there is a problem, would be regarded as gross negligence if anything happens. Your lawyer would be in the best position to comment about the various implications.

 

[Berubeland]

You can hire an independent fire inspector to go through your property before the "official inspection" so that you can avoid any problems with fines.

Here`s the Fire Guy`s website http://www.thefireguy.ca/ I`m not sure he works in your area.