NEWS
Bedford Street blaze reminds tenants to check smoke alarms
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by Pedro Oliveira Jr.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The Madison Fire Department has not yet discovered the cause of a Sunday morning blaze that killed a 23-year-old University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student near the UW-Madison campus, but investigators said the house had no working fire detectors.
A passerby called 911 at 5:35 a.m. reporting a fire at 123 N. Bedford St. Three UW-Madison students were sent to UW Hospital with burn injuries, and MFD has estimated damages at $100,000.
"Law regulates landlords are required to install and maintain fire detectors in all residential units," City Council President Mike Verveer said. "The tenants shall maintain those smoke detectors and notify the landlord if they're not operable."
According to Verveer, the city's Building Inspection Department has reported that, about 40 percent of the time, smoke detectors are not in good working condition in inspected Madison-area buildings.
This is not the first time 123 N. Bedford St., owned by Palisades Properties, failed to comply with fire safety rules.
"Among the many problems cited, in December 2004, was that there was no smoking detector on the basement or the first floor," Verveer said. "Apparently, there was one on the second floor."
All the smoke detectors were working, according to a February 2005 re-inspection, but the building has not been checked since, he said. According to Verveer, city inspectors normally examine Madison properties once every six years.
Chris Houden of Palisades Properties did not return numerous phones calls seeking comment Monday evening.
The mother of a UW senior who asked to be called "Carolyn" sent Verveer an e-mail, obtained by The Badger Herald, in which she said her daughter also experienced a similar situation in another Palisades Properties residence last year.
"I read with great sadness, but little surprise, of the fire on Sunday morning. Last year, my daughter lived in the house next door, which, incidentally, also had no working smoke detectors," she said. "The article in the paper would suggest that the responsibility for the safety of a residence lies with the student and that they are expected to confront a landlord when mandatory safety equipment does not work."
Dean of Students Lori Berquam sent UW students an e-mail Monday as a reminder of the importance of simple tasks to avoid fire hazards.
"The best thing we can do is to make sure our smoke detectors are plugged in," Berquam said. "If everybody did that, I would be pretty happy."
UW seniors Nathan Hoftiezer — who lived in the affected house — and Kelly Shattuck, a friend spending the night, were released from the hospital Monday, Verveer said. UW senior Andy Telan, the brother of the deceased, was reported to have burns and additional cuts, and was still in the hospital as of Monday night.
Peter J. Telan, of Plymouth, Wis., was reported dead at the scene.
"While most of us are preparing for a family meal on Thursday, this family will be preparing to bury their son," Carolyn said. "If the landlords of Madison do not find this situation compelling enough to take action, nothing probably will."
Correction: Due to a reporting error, this article should have said Peter Talen died in the fire at 123 N. Bedford St. We regret the error.
Anonymous (November 20, 2007 @ 2:57pm):
It is Talen, not Telan. The Talen family of Plymouth, Wis. are the ones heavily affected by this tragedy.
Anonymous (November 21, 2007 @ 10:45am):
I lived in this house from 2005 to 2006 and the the smoke detectors, while crappy looking, were checked by us and worked. The wood deck in the front of the house always looked like a fire hazard, especially with a couch and grill on it.
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