Inside Glendale apartment fire: How upgraded alarm system helped people evacuate
GLENDALE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- New video shows the extent of the damage inside the Glendale apartment building that went up in flames Monday, June 1.
More than a dozen people are displaced, from eight affected units, but responding fire chiefs say it could have been a lot worse.
No one was hurt or killed, and the fire was confined to a relatively small area of the apartment complex.
The building owners recently upgraded their fire alarm system.
This system upgrade was not cheap, but building management hopes this fire can encourage other owners and landlords to take the leap and invest in upgrades.
Several apartment units were charred Tuesday, soaked, and reeked of thick, heavy smoke.
Outside, crews were boarding up the roof to put tarps up for the night. Inside, crews were repairing door locks that were kicked in during the evacuation.
It was relatively quiet compared to the day before, when Monday's fire triggered the building's new voice evacuation system.
Rachel Manthy is the business manager for RST Property Management. She told us, "We have the speaking alarm in all the bedrooms and living room and living spaces in each apartment."
When the Parkside's previous fire alarm system broke down, the owners needed to upgrade. Testing finished in February.
Residents raved about it after the fire.
On Monday, Tammy Boyd told us, “It’s wonderful, it speaks to you. So, it was alerting you saying, ‘Fire. Exit the building immediately.’”
Fire code requires any buildings taller than 75 feet have voice evacuation systems.
The Parkside is not that tall, but because it's so long—162 units—fire departments still felt the voice evacuation system was best.
North Shore Fire Chief Robert Whitaker said Monday, "Once you have enough maintenance problems, you decide you're going to make an investment. This owner proactively decided to do that without us having to do anything like forcing it."
North Shore helped with testing and compliance.
But there are significant drawbacks that prevent most landlords from upgrading.
Manthy said, "It was not cheap," adding, "It was over $600,000."
The installer, Action Fire & Alarm of Waukesha, pegged the cost at closer to $750,000.
Manthy said, "They did it in phases. Putting the electrical in, wiring every single apartment, putting conduit in."
They also installed the control center in the lobby, which allows staff or firefighters to speak to the building through the PA system.
It also alerts the fire department and feeds real-time information.
On Monday, firefighters knew exactly which apartment units to go to before they arrived. One resident told us, "They knew before we did."
Another key element credited with limiting the damage was fire doors in every hallway. They're held open by powerful magnets. When a fire alarm is triggered, the magnet releases the doors, effectively closing off the hallways.
With no injuries and no deaths, building managers say the costs were worth it.
Right now, the restoration company is working with insurance adjusters to start to get the building back to normal.
First, the structure needs to be cleaned and the roof repaired. Electrical work comes next; then they can rebuild the damaged units.