Rockland Firefighters, Officials Call for State to Intervene in Ramapo, Spring Valley Code Enforcement

The arrests Thursday of Ramapo's Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence and Assistant Town Attorney N. Aaron Troodler were the minds of Rockland officials -- who also are thinking about this week's revelation that in March state officials had accused the town's fire inspector, Adam Peltz, of either deceit or incompetence.

On Friday, county politicians and first responders called again for the state to intervene on the issue of inspections -- in both the town of Ramapo and the village of Spring Valley.

They were responding to reports in the media this week that state officials had sent letters March 14 sharply criticizing Peltz for filing safety inspections on four local private schools that made no mention of glaring safety issues which the state's own inspections easily identified, such as broken, inoperable fire doors. Carl Thurnau of the state education department said Peltz was clearly either unqualified or not actually performing the inspections he was certifying.

(Ramapo officials said they were investigating and put Peltz on desk duty, according to The Journal News.)

Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski and County Executive Ed Day held a rally with Rockland County Director of Fire and Emergency Services Gordon Wren Jr., Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, state Senator David Carlucci, and fire chiefs and firefighters from across the county at the Rockland Fire Training Center in Pomona to demand immediate state intervention into systematic failure of code enforcement.

Unsafe conditions in local nonpublic schools have been known about and ignored for a long time, despite firefighters' very public complaints. The media has reported on the issue as well. News 12 did a four-month investigative report, “Playing with Fire,” highlighting the lack of fire inspections in local private schools.

But the state's moves so far have been unsuccessful at prompting change.

Both Ramapo and Spring Valley were cited by state officials in 2015 for failing to meet minimum standards for building permits, construction inspections, and certificates of occupancy and for faiing to conduct mandated annual fire safety inspections. Ramapo didn't even keep records, the state said. Spring Valley was given a deadline -- which has come and gone.

At the rally, Day once again called for the state to empower the county to perform fire inspections at private schools.

“These are children we are talking about,” Day said. “Are we going to wait until we see body bags of children coming out of these schools because the doors were dead bolted and they could not get out? Is that what it’s going to take?’’

All called for state intervention to improve fire safety at private schools in Ramapo and Spring Valley.

Zebrowski has been calling for state action for more than two years, requesting that they open a full 381 investigation into the Village and the Town of Ramapo for repeated failure to properly enforce zoning and fire codes. County Executive Day, in conjunction with the County Health Department, formed the Rockland Codes Initiative to crack down on illegal housing throughout the County. Both officials have worked closely with local fire departments and first responders and have seen that this has become one of the most pressing issues in Rockland.

“The systemic and pervasive lack of code enforcement in Ramapo and Spring Valley is a clear and present danger to the safety and well-being of our citizens," Zebrowski said. "For over two years I have been documenting this lawlessness and calling on the State to intervene. For an inspector to sign off on a school with dead bolted doors, exposed wiring and extension cords across a bathroom floor, shows that we cannot trust these local officials. The evidence is clear and the time for action is now. The State must intervene to protect the health and safety of our residents, children and first responders.

Rockland County is ready, willing and able to make sure that all schools meet safety standards to protect children, Day said.

“Ramapo is failing to take satisfactory action to safeguard children who attend private schools,” Day said. “If Ramapo continues to shirk its responsibility to inspect and act on fire safety violations at private schools let the state empower the County of Rockland to do the job.

“We are calling on the state to take action before there is a tragedy."