Dozens of Ravenna residents forced from their homes after apartment building condemned

Residents at Western Reserve Residential Rooms had to find new homes Dec. 18 following a morning inspection that left the building condemned.

Ravenna Mayor Frank Seman said 27 residents were forced to find new places to stay after Ravenna property maintenance officer Don Rose, Fire Chief Mark Chapple and fire inspector Adam George smelled gas while inspecting the building’s basement at about 10 a.m. Dec. 18.

“We got on it, and spent the rest of the day working on it, but we shut the gas off. You don’t dare take a chance on that,” Seman said. The weather was so lousy, and they weren’t going to have heat.”

The gas smell wasn’t the only thing concerning inspectors, who also found a fire escape that had been blocked. They were also concerned about ongoing construction in the building, especially where drywall was being removed even though the owner had not pulled a proper permit.

Removing drywall, lath or plaster in older structures that used unknown building materials could result in contaminated dust, Rose explained, adding that Bell should have notified the EPA office in Akron and ensured that the proper permits were in place.

“Anytime you’re doing something to a commercial building, you need to contact Akron air quality so things can be done correctly,” Rose said.

Seman and Rose said owner Anthony Bell was cooperative, finding at least temporary homes for most of the tenants in other properties he owns. Five residents, including a family of four, found shelter at Shepherd’s House, located between Kent and Ravenna.

Rose, Chapple and George remained on scene until all 27 people had been accounted for, the mayor said.

The Dec. 18 inspection wasn’t the city officials’ first visit. Police had been there in the days immediately prior to the inspection, and had returned earlier that morning. The responding officers had contacted the city’s building and fire inspectors about several areas of concerns at Western Reserve Residential Rooms.

“The safety concerns were the construction being done while people were living there. Also, the people were opening up fire doors and letting people in the emergency exits. We wanted to make sure that those fire exits were all unblocked, that they were able to be used in case of an emergency. One of the exits was nailed shut or screwed shut, to where it couldn’t be opened. You can’t have that,” Rose said.

Before the building can be reopened, Bell will have to have the drywall and dust that is in the hallways properly tested, and will have to have the fire escapes certified, Rose said. Then, after pulling the correct permits, he will be able to continue repairs.

Some repairs may be able to be done after residents have returned, but the gas issue will certainly have to be addressed first, and nobody will be able to return until Akron Air Quality certifies that the dust is nonhazardous, Rose said.

“Just in general, it was in pretty sad shape. We would have been negligent if we had not taken action on that, and then there was an explosion there, or other problems,” Seman said.