A pillow.
And a blanket.

After returning to her downtown apartment after four days of being at home with her parents following the removal of four wisdom teeth, your daughter noticed that one of the two decorator pillows on her bed was missing. Checking with her roommate, the two girls also determined that a blanket was missing as well. And knowing that the leasing office had a team of window blind installers come through the building, the girls feared their apartment had been left unlocked and someone off the streets had wondered in looking for things that they needed.

The fact that the fire protection services were in place and that the fire alarm repairs had been made initially made the residents think that moving into a building that looked more like a construction site than a residence would be okay. The leasing agency received a certificate of occupancy so the residents assumed that the fire alarm installation service was complete and that any necessary fire alarm repair would be immediately addressed. Every time that there was a security issue, however, the residents began to wonder about all of the other safety features that were supposedly in place.

The disappearance of a pillow and and blanket are just the most recent example of the problems of an apartment complex that opened too early. The end of halfway doors were initially not locked and when the locks were installed they did not automatically engage. This meant that residents had to both unlock and lock these entrances whenever they arrived.

Unfortunately, when the two residents registered their concerns with the leasing office the response was that while this was a weird turn of events, it really was not a concern. The leasing office workers failed to understand that the absence of anything, no matter its value, was an indicator of the security problems that were not getting better, but worse. A contractor had clearly left their apartment unlocked and someone had been in their apartment. The fact that the security cameras in the hallway are not hooked up is yet another concern.

When the Lost is Found
Three days after the two young women noticed these strange but comfortable items were missing, the were found in the trash room. Not exactly hidden, but tucked in behind some unused counter tops in the side of the room, the now dirty pillow and blanket were found. Taking a photo of the found items, the girls minutes later shared the evidence with the leasing office. The silence was deafening. The leasing representatives apologized for their initial reaction and, again, promised that they would increase the security presence in the building and would have another conversation with The construction company. They promised that there would be process made by the end of the week.

When new buildings, especially apartment complexes, open there can be some problems. Drain hoses not attached to brand new washing machines, doors that do not lock when they should, cables and cords hanging from a ceiling. When it comes to fire alarm repairs and fire protection services, however, there is no room for error. Consider some of these facts and figures about not only apartment complexes, but the many locations where fire alarm repairs and inspections are essential:

• Apartments, hotels, offices, and facilities that care for the sick are the four property classes that account for half of high-rise fires.
• Electrical malfunction accounts for 19% of non-confined fires in hospitals, and these damages can be limited if the proper installation of sprinkler systems is in place.
• Fortunately, fires in warehouse properties have declined substantially over the past 30 years. The fact that the numbers dropped from 4,700 in 1980 to 1,200 in 2011 is in part due to the proper installation of fire sprinkler systems and early warning systems.
• In fact, the combination of automatic sprinklers and early warning systems in all buildings could reduce overall injuries, loss of life, and property damage by as much as 50%.
• Likewise, fires in warehouse properties have declined substantially over the past 30 years, from 4,700 in the year 1980 to 1,200 in the year 2011.

Safety is a major concern, especially in new high rise apartment buildings.