Tenants, Building Owner Wait For Answers In Salem Fire

SALEM, MA — The company that owns a Salem apartment building that was heavily damaged in a May 31 fire said it is still waiting for insurance inspectors to determine the cause of the fire so it can move forward with repairs.

In the meantime, Brookline-based Newman Properties has refunded June's rent to tenants of the Saltonstall Apartments on Lafayette Street and is trying to help them collect the $750 per unit its insurance company is offering to cover temporary housing expenses. Newman Properties has also said it is allowing tenants to break their leases without penalty. The fire displaced 40 tenants.

Dominick Pangallo, chief of staff to Mayor Kim Driscoll, said the hold up was not being caused by the city. "Occupancy of the property can resume once the property owner makes repairs to a corridor leading to the building’s secondary egress. The property owner and their insurance company were both made aware of this. Re-occupancy of the property is not being delayed by the City," he said.

Laura Assade, Driscoll's director of constituent services, said city officials have been working with local relief organizations to offer services for the displaced tenants. "I have been in touch with most residents either via phone or email. Relief efforts are being sought out on a case by case basis," Assade said. "Some families are in need of items for their children, however most if not all need housing."

Newman Properties purchased the 26-unit apartment building in February for $4.3 million. The company can't begin repair work until the inspection to determine the cause of the fire is completed. It has been staffing the building on a regular schedule so tenants, who are not allowed in the building unsupervised, can retrieve possessions.

"Our hope and goal would be to get this building back online as fast as possible," said Alex Bardim, a representative for Newman Properties. "At the same time, we're being told this is going to take awhile and don't get anyone's hopes up. As soon as we saw this was going to drag on past a week, we told people they could break their leases."

No one was injured in the daytime fire in the four-story building, but two units were completely destroyed and most of the other units sustained heavy damage. Bardim said the "whole back of the building is compromised" and the company will likely have to make extensive structural repairs.

"The company is fielding calls from tenants all day, and they're doing whatever they can to point them to resources," Bardim said. "But, as you know and especially in these times, nothing move fast."