Businesses operating inside a Buffalo Road warehouse must temporarily cease operations because of critical fire safety concerns, a state Supreme Court justice ruled Aug. 12.
City officials asked the court to intervene after they said the warehouse owner failed to fix non-working fire sprinklers, alarms and a suppression system for more than a year and ignored an order to vacate last month. The city argued the warehouse posed a significant fire risk because of highly-combustible materials stored inside, including pallets, flammable liquids and industrial quantities of wood and paper.
The warehouse, at 110 Buffalo Road, contains an auto repair shop and recently became a new manufacturing and storage plant for Pallet Express Corp. ― whose previous warehouse on Lyell Avenue burned in a massive five-alarm blaze June 9.
Warehouse owner John Trickey told the Democrat and Chronicle this week the repairs were complete, and he was just waiting on a third-party inspection to certify the system is fully operational. Trickey said he expected to hand in those results Aug. 14.
“The sprinkler system is up and running,” he said. “The alarm is up and running.”
In a court order dated Aug. 12, state Supreme Court Judge Kevin Nasca ordered the businesses to cease operations but allowed them to leave existing materials and equipment on-site until a cause hearing Aug. 25.
— Kayla Canne covers community safety for the Democrat and Chronicle with a focus on immigration, police accountability, government surveillance and how people are impacted by violence. Follow her on Instagram @bykaylacanne. Get in touch at kcanne@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Road warehouse businesses ordered to halt operations
Reporting by Kayla Canne, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kayla Canne, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | USA TODAY Network
