Wallace S. Gibson CPM * GRI

The death of a tenant in Ampy Smith's rental units AGAIN stresses that area landlords are REQUIRED by LAW to maintain the smoke alarms in their rental units. Smith is quoted in The Hook as having REMOVED all of the batters in the smoke alarms of his 9 townhouses.

From The Hook * OctoberAcclaimed local drummer Johnny Gilmore has died in a fire, and his father was hospitalized after the blaze erupted Thursday night in the musician's room at the Green Leaf Townhouses in midtown on Fifth Street, SW.

"I was talking to him an hour or an hour and a half before it happened," says Rougemont Avenue resident Kenneth Jackson, who was visiting his sister in the unit adjacent to Gilmore's in the nine-unit apartment complex. "He was sitting on the wall, and we were talking about music."

Music was the 45-year-old's life, say those who heard the Johnny Gilmore Trio, Soko, and other artists, such as Corey Harris, with whom he drummed.

"Everybody who's anybody musically in this town played with Johnny Gilmore," says singer-songwriter William Walter, who recently collaborated with him and Tucker Rogers on a live album called Rough Around the Edges.

"Johnny Gilmore's the best musician I've ever met in my life," enthused Charlottesville music critic Stephen Barling in a 2006 round-table. "And that's the truth."

"I went down to Miller's last night, and everyone was just staggering around," Barling says Friday morning. "I'm listening to Soko right now, where Johnny's playing with LeRoi,"- that's LeRoi Moore, the late saxophonist for Dave Matthews Band.

With musical talent, however, came a sort of semi-seclusion that made it hard for musicians and others to reach Gilmore at times.

Students at a state Fire Marshal's class examined a charred futon and other debris the morning after.
PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER

The landlord at the complex where Gilmore lived with his father, Curtis, says that the younger Gilmore's bedroom door was often locked.

"We never could get in his room," says landlord Ampy Smith, mentioning an effort just a day earlier to gain access to measure for window blinds.

And indeed, when the elder Gilmore arrived home the night of the fire, according to Charlottesville fire officials, he smelled smoke and rushed upstairs only to find his son's room locked.

His efforts to break down the door failed, explained Charlottesville Fire Marshal W.A. Hogsten at an October 23 press conference, and by the time firefighters arrived on the scene about five minutes after the 9:25pm 911 call came in, the room had already "flashed over," a condition in which the temperature has risen so high (typically 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit) that material suddenly combusts.

Three early-arriving police officers attempted to reach the room to rescue Gilmore but were turned back by smoke and heat. One was treated and released for smoke inhalation at UVA hospital. Curtis Gilmore, 73, was also treated for smoke inhalation and released the same night.

"This is a tragedy," says landlord Smith. "Both of them are really nice people."

Hogsten says the smoke detector in Gilmore's unit was in an upstairs hallway and appeared to be without a battery. Smith says he's gotten frustrated that tenants sometimes disable the units due to false alarms originating with kitchen smoke- and in fact, firefighters discovered that every single smoke detector present in the 9-unit apartment complex had been disabled or removed.

According to a pair of summer 2008 tests conducted by local fire departments and this newspaper, the most common type of detector, ionization, tends to false alarm eight times more frequently than the competing technology, but fails to promptly detect smoldering fires, the kind most likely to kill people while they sleep.

While Hogsten says it's too soon to be certain what killed Gilmore, the initial investigation suggests it was an accidental fire, and cigarettes- a common cause of smoldering fires- were present in the room.

"This did not need to happen," said Fire Chief Werner, who at today's press conference announced a "call to action" for landlords, homeowners, neighborhood associations, and service organizations to help ensure that every residence in the city is equipped with a smoke detector. And for the first time, Werner made clear that ionization-only detectors- the kind in most homes- are simply not sufficient.

"We think you need to go to the next step and add a dual detector," said Werner, who has maintained his support for the combination technology even as several states have changed their laws in favor of photoelectric-only detectors, and various fire safety organizations have also embraced the technology for its avoidance of false alarms.

Werner says Gilmore's death is a reminder to the fire department that even with a free smoke detector program, "We have more to do."

And, perhaps, that will be one more piece of Gilmore's legacy- one those who knew him say will be large.

"His God-given talent and his passion shouldn't pass Charlottesville by quietly," says Charlottesville musician William Walter. "There will never be another Johnny Gilmore.

From Virginia Fire Code

ARTICLE 5. Smoke Detectors Section 61-5-1. Scope.

In addition to the requirements of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (VUSBC), and in accordance with authority provided by Code of Virginia, Section 15.2-922, the provisions of this Article shall govern the installation and maintenance of smoke detectors. (9-84-61; 29-84-61; 23-94-61; 13-95-61; 16-98-61;5-02-61.)

Section 61-5-2. Where required.

Smoke detectors shall be installed in the following structures regardless of when constructed:

a) All buildings containing one (1) or more dwelling units.

b) Hotels or motels regularly used, offered for, or intended to be used to provide overnight sleeping accommodations for one (1) or more persons.

(c) Rooming houses regularly used, offered for, or intended to be used

to provide overnight sleeping accommodations.

(d) College or university buildings containing dormitories for sleeping purposes.

(e) All local and regional detention homes, group homes, and other residential care facilities for children or juveniles which are operated by or under the Department of Juvenile Justice.

(f) All adult care residences and adult day care centers licensed by the Department of Social Services. (9-84-61; 23-94-61; 13-95-61; 16-98-61; 5-02-61.)

Section 61-5-3. Installation requirements.

(a) Smoke detectors installed pursuant to this Article shall be installed in conformance with the provisions of the VUSBC.

(b) Appropriate permits as required by the VUSBC shall be secured for the installation for the installation of AC-powered smoke detectors; however, no fee will be charged for the permit.

(c) The smoke detectors shall be installed in locations specified in the applicable sections of the VUSBC. (23-94-61; 13-95-61; 16-98-61; 5-02-61; 15-05-61.)

Section 61-5-4. Responsibilities for rented or leased units.

The owner of any unit which is rented or leased, at the beginning of each tenancy and at least annually thereafter, shall furnish the tenant with a certificate that all required smoke detectors are present, have been inspected, and are in good working order. Except for smoke detectors located in hallways, stairwells, and other public or common areas of multi-family buildings, interim testing, repair, and maintenance of smoke detectors in rented or leased units shall be the responsibility of the tenant; however, the owner shall be obligated to service, repair or replace any malfunctioning smoke detectors within five (5) days of receipt of written notice from the tenant that such smoke detector is in need of service, repair, or replacement.

(23-94-61.)

Landlords shall notify deaf or hearing-impaired tenants of the availability of special smoke detectors. New tenants shall be asked, in writing, at the time of rental, whether visual smoke detectors will be needed. Upon request, the landlord or proprietor shall provide visual smoke detectors, which have an effective intensity of not less than 100 candela, to any deaf or hearing-impaired occupant of any of the following occupancies, regardless of when constructed:

(a) All dormitory buildings arranged for the shelter and sleeping accommodations of more than twenty individuals.

(b) All multiple-family dwellings having more than two dwelling units, including all dormitories, boarding and lodging houses arranged for shelter and sleeping accommodations of more than five individuals.

(c) All buildings arranged for use as single-family attached or detached dwelling units. (23-94-61; 13-95-61; 16-98-61; 5-02-61.)

Section 61-5-5. Enforcement.

The Building, Building Maintenance Official and/or Fire Official are authorized to administer and enforce this Article. (29-84-61; 23-94-61; 13-95-61; 16-98-61; 5-02-61; 15-05-61.)

Section 61-5-6. Relation to other codes.

Nothing in this Article shall excuse any building owner from compliance with all other applicable provisions of the VUSBC and the Code of the County of Fairfax. (9-84-61; 23-94-61; 13-95-61; 16-98-61; 5-02-61.)

--
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
GIIBSON MANAGEMENT GROUP, Ltd.

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".....A flower here, a tree there; yonder a grove, near it a fountain; on this side a hill, on that a river. Indeed I know nothing so charming as our own country. ~ Thomas Jefferson ~

A recent article in The Daily Progress reports on the progress of the new Martha Jefferson Hospital being built on Pantops mountain - about 3 blocks from my office.

I remember the "old" Martha Jefferson Hospital from my youth....one of my best friends lived down the street on Locust Avenue and I drove by it often.

I spent several days and nights in the old hospital in April and May of this year and was pleased to see that many of the current staff will be going to the new and LARGER facility when it opens in 2012.

Although there are currently an outpatient and lab facility at their Pantops current location as well as associated physicians offices, the new facility will be larger and much easier to negotiate than the old facility.

This photo shows the workers as the last beam is put in place to complete the steel structure.

This is the rendering of the new front entry to the Pantops location.

I am advising investment owners wanting to buy in the path of progress to purchase rental property in the Pantops area as well as Lake Monticello which is 15 minutes from the new MJH location.

While syncing my TENANT Contacts in my Palm cel phone, I was comparing tenants with properties and came to the realization that almost 20% of my current rental residents are actually LANDLORDS elsewhere.

They moved to the Charlottesville/Central Virginia area for new jobs or to attend school. Some who were fortunate enough to sell their former homes before moving are electing NOT to purchase in the area because they will be leaving in 2 to 4 years.

The residents who were NOT fortunate to have sold their former homes are electing to be landlords until their former real estate market recovers. A few have family or friends in the area who will act as caretaker for their property; however, many have elected to hire a professional to manage their property. Of these, most attempted to find tenants themselves * either through connections or local websites and when time became a issue, they elected to hire a professional to market and lease their property.

It will be interesting during the lease term of these residents to see if their mind-set can switch from landlord to tenant as appropriate.

In July, I received an e-mail from a property owner whose daughter had just graduated from UVa Med school and who was leaving the area and he wanted to keep the townhouse as an investment. I arranged to meet with the daughter, view the unit and I gave a realistic rent estimate with the caveat that the rent needed to be reduced sooner rather than later because of the late time of the year.....After sending him my management proposal and management agreement, I got his e-mail that he had decided on another property manager. When I realized who he went with, I knew his only criteria was their lower management fee.

The townhouse has now been vacant for over a month and having started out at a very AGGRESSIVE rental rate, it is now down to the rent I quoted in July. Their property manager does not have a national website presence and has a canned "sales" website that she features her rental property on. She has posted a half-hearted listing on our area Craigslist every week or so and does not have the CL presence that most area professional PMs have (I post daily on a rotation between my HERO listing HTML and postlet).

This is a REALLY good example of penny wise and pound foolish.....feel free to quote my exprience when you receive those dialing-for-dollars phone calls from prospects. If they are ONLY making their selection on the mgmt fee quoted, they are leaving DOLLARS on the table with lost rent, utility/upkeep carrying costs.

At my age, there are several moments in my life where I remember EXACTLY where I was when an event occurred!!!!

....when JFK was shot

....when SPUTNIK went up

....walk on the MOON

....assault on WACO

....9 * 11 * 2001

On that day, I was in my office meeting with a would-be client in my conference room and my office manager came in and said her mother had called and said to turn on the news. Luckily our conference room had a TV and we watched NBC and saw the second tower go down. My would be client had worked at the Pentagon, a suite mate's sister worked in Tower One (luckily, she was late to work that day) and several of the office tenants had friends or relatives in the Pentagon.

For those who may live an in area not effected * NY * NJ * PA * VA * we actually have this logo on a license plate and every time I see it, I am effected.....