By WECT Staff | April 14, 2021 at 6:47 PM EDT – Updated April 14 at 11:50 PM
LELAND, N.C. (WECT) – Two separate reports of injuries incurred on a Leland apartment building’s stairways have resulted in the Brunswick Point Apartment Homes being condemned Wednesday, April 14.
According to a Leland Fire Department report, a Domino’s delivery driver was injured in the early hours of Wednesday morning when a concrete step “caved in.”
At 11:31 am Wednesday morning Leland Police Department were called out because another step caved in when a woman stepped on it. The report describes her ankle as “messed up.”
The Town of Leland condemned all the buildings at 1008 Hunterstone Drive in Leland following structural issues on multiple stairways and evacuated 12 units in one of the buildings to prevent additional injuries.
Brunswick Point Apartment Homes onsite property managers have provided temporary housing for the displaced residents.
“In addition to safety concerns about the stairs themselves, there was also concern that residents in that building would not have a way to safely exit the building in the event of a fire or other emergency,” said Leland Fire Chief Chris Langlois.
Pursuant to Section 110.2 of the North Carolina Fire Code, a fire code or fire department official is authorized to require the immediate evacuation of any building deemed unsafe due to “hazardous conditions that present imminent danger to building occupants.”
Follow-up inspections revealed compromised stairways in the complex’s 11 other buildings.
At this time, Chief Langlois did not know what had caused the issue with the stairs, whether any of the other condemned buildings would have to be evacuated, or how soon the displaced residents would be able to return home.
“They [inspection staff] are going to do an evaluation of the rest of the buildings to see what can be done and how quickly it can be done to get them up to standard.”
Following a hearing, as outlined in North Carolina General Statute 160A-428, Town of Leland inspections staff may order the apartment complex owner to repair, close, vacate or demolish the buildings, as is deemed appropriate.
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