The FDNY’s system for inspecting and tracking fire alarms that are not up to code is broken, according to a city comptroller audit.
The comptroller said the self-certification process was vulnerable to corruption and a danger to the public.
An FDNY unit of 18 inspectors checks the fire-alarm systems at commercial buildings. When a building does not meet standards, an inspector issues a letter of defect, which gives the property owner 90 days to prove that the problem has been fixed.
The owner of the building can either have an inspector verify the improvements or have a licensed professional certify that the fixes have been made.
The comptroller’s report showed that even when self-certifications were approved, many buildings’ fire-alarm systems weren’t actually fixed. The FDNY unit approved 1,139 self-certifications in fiscal year 2008, but when 57 certifications were re-inspected, 27 of them still failed.
The self-certification system makes it easy for property owners or their professionals to lie about improvements, the audit charged.