Before fatal fire, building was cited with violations
Owner was supposed to secure the structure
PATERSON – The vacant building where a fatal fire happened last week had received six violations 23 days before the blaze, including one for not securing the structure to prevent people from getting inside.
Officials said the city’s laws regulating vacant buildings are designed to force the owners to enclose windows, doors and other entry points to prevent squatters from getting inside, a problem that resulted in numerous fires over the years.
A city housing inspector on Feb. 6 issued the six violations to the owner of 69 Mercer St., Trishana Sealy, according to a copy of the infraction notice. Most of the violations gave Sealy until March 6 to address the alleged infractions.
But the violation for not securing the building demanded quicker action, with a Feb. 12 compliance date. Fire Department officials said the building was not secured on Feb. 29, the day of the fatal blaze.
Sealy could not be reached for comment. City property records show Sealy bought the Mercer Street house in 2021 for $370,000. The property is currently assessed at $165,600 by the city tax office.
The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the death. Authorities said firefighters found the deceased person’s body on the second floor of the 21⁄2-story structure.
The person’s name has not been made public.
Mayor Andre Sayegh did not immediately respond to questions about the infractions at the fatal fire building.
Fire Chief Alex Alicea said the city in recent years has reduced the number of vacant structures from about 1,200 to 286. As a result, he said, the number of fires in vacant buildings also has gone down.
In the past year, Paterson has had 11 fires at vacant buildings, including the one on Mercer Street, the chief said.
Alicea noted that the house where the fire happened stood between two other homes where people lived, with the buildings a few feet apart. The chief credited his firefighters for being able to prevent the blaze from spreading to the other houses.
Besides the violation for not securing 69 Mercer, the penalties issued on Feb. 6 were for not registering the vacant building, not maintaining the property, not posting the required sign, not clearing trash and debris, and not paying Paterson’s $2,000 vacant property registration fee.