UNCA dorm fire hazards? N.C. agency drops the ball

What in the world was the State Construction Office thinking when it ignored months of documented warnings about the fire hazards in The Woods, a new development of apartment-style housing for about 300 students at UNC Asheville?

Despite the issues that had been raised, the state office issued a certificate of occupancy for the complex of five five-story wooden buildings.

In turn, the office of state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, who also serves as state fire marshal, intervened by barring the buildings from being occupied on the move-in weekend, just before fall classes.

A day later (Aug. 17), the chaos was resolved by allowing the buildings to be occupied, pending repairs, as long as four off-duty Asheville firefighters are allowed to bunk there for free, as well as some other conditions.

In the aftermath, UNCA officials are insisting they did nothing wrong. They forcefully stated that the buildings complied with state code and that the university was in constant communications with its construction team. 

Conversely, state Insurance Department spokesman Barry Smith told the Asheville Citizen Times, “These were not last-minute concerns. We’ve been in contact with the university and the State Construction Office since May. We just got jurisdiction in the form of a certificate of occupancy to intervene on Wednesday (Aug. 15), which was issued by the State Construction Office.”

Also registering a conflicting viewpoint, the State Construction Office questioned whether the Insurance Department has the authority to inspect the buildings or to deny occupancy.

All in all, we tend to agree with the assessment of Asheville Fire Chief Scott Burnette, who said, “What’s at stake are people’s lives.” Apparently, his unit first alerted the Insurance Department of the fire-safety problems.

An explanation for the State Construction Office’s actions surely is in order.