Longstanding differences between Arlington Heights fire inspectors and village officials are frustrating local businesses, which are confused by the fire inspection process, Village President William Maki said Monday.
”I`ve been aware of (the dispute) ever since I was elected mayor and earlier,” said Maki, who was elected in 1989. ”It`s not been without complaints from the business community. They have to have some clear indication of what the requirement of the law is,” Maki said.
On one side of the dispute are the village`s fire inspectors, who feel they are only doing their job as thoroughly as they can by closely following the fire code of the village.
But village officials, including Maki and Fire Chief Bruce Rodewald, are questioning the approach of the village`s three inspectors and the local fire marshal.
Both sides are hoping a special meeting before next week`s Village Board meeting will begin a lengthy process to resolve the conflict.
Maki called a meeting of the village trustees for 7 p.m. next Tuesday to review an analysis of the problem and possible solutions in a report to be submitted by Village Manager Kenneth Bonder.
The Fire Department`s controversy came into the public eye recently when fire inspector Lt. Elmer Sundstrom filed a federal lawsuit against the village in the U.S. District Court in Chicago.
The lawsuit alleged there were ”serious” violations at Arlington International Racecourse that were ”of great public interest,” the suit contended. When the racecourse opened last spring for the season, there were numerous fire code violations, Fire Department records show. However, Rodewald and racecourse officials insist the violations-which were corrected by November-posed no danger to the public.
Sundstrom refused to comment because of the pending lawsuit. But firefighter Bill Kidd, the president of the Fire Department`s union, said the 80-member union is behind the village`s fire inspectors.
”The inspectors are doing their job; they are trying to follow the code, which is correct,” said Kidd. ”Labor is not creating a problem for businesses and developers; that`s not our position.”
But inspectors may be following the code too zealously, officials say.
”I`ve had builders tell me that . . . Arlington Heights is more stringent in their interpretation of the (fire) code” than other villages, Maki said. ”A fire chief has previously described it as being to the letter of the law and I think that`s an accurate experience of what we`re seeing.”
”A lot of these individuals think they are complying with the . . . code only to be told differently by fire inspectors,” Maki said.
In the middle of the long-simmering debate over how stringently fire code violations should be enforced are the businesses and building owners in Arlington Heights who must comply with the code.
”It`s not fair to these good businesses trying to make a go of it,”
said Martin Munsen, the village`s building director. ”I get a lot of complaints . . . and they are facing picayune violations.”
Arlington International Racecourse, for example, received a 60-page report detailing numerous violations found by Sundstrom at the new facility. A devastating fire destroyed the racecourse`s grandstand in 1985, but racecourse officials say the rebuilt facility far exceeds local fire safety codes.
”In terms of fire safety, consistently by action, use of money and manpower, we have exceeded every requirement,” said Paul O`Connor, marketing vice president.
The racecourse contends that it went to lengthy efforts to comply with the violations cited by Sundstrom in April of last year. Measures to correct the citations ranged from hiring outside fire protection consultants to replacing over two dozen sprinkler heads that had been inadvertently splattered with paint. Paint may hamper the smoke and heat sensitivity of a sprinkler, O`Connor said.
”I could give you six businesses off the top of my head that are in similar positions as the racetrack,” said Maki, who added that he has received more than 20 calls from frustrated business owners.
Chief Rodewald said that for businesses, the inspectors` process is
”difficult and it`s expensive.”
Regarding the fire inspectors, Rodewald said: ”It hasn`t been fully proven yet whether I`m dealing with good, honest people or just extremists.”
