The Walden Board of Trustees is considering changes to the village’s fire safety regulations after Building Inspector Kathy Stegenga raised concerns about single-family rental properties that are not currently subject to village fire safety inspections.

The board has been reviewing and updating various sections of the village code in recent months. During its Sept. 15 meeting, Stegenga recommended that the village consider adding single-family residential rentals to its fire safety requirements.

The village currently follows the New York state fire safety code, but Stegenga said the village code does not include single-family homes that are being rented. As a result, some of those properties are not registered with the Building Department and have not undergone fire safety inspections.

Stegenga said the department has received calls in recent months involving appliance-related fires at rental properties, including one in which a plastic flower pot caught fire.

“The only thing I would note is that single-family residential rentals are not included in the village code,” Stegenga said. “So you have a lot of houses that are single-family and rented, but none of them get inspected at all.”

Stegenga said owners of rental properties are required to register and provide contact information, but she expressed concern about relying on property owners and tenants to ensure that mechanical systems, appliances and required safety equipment are properly maintained.

“When you’re not occupying the house and you have renters in there, you’re assuming they’re going to take care of things,” she said. “And you’re going to assume that the non-owner or the owner not living there is going to be on top of the maintenance on any of the mechanicals or appliances, as well as whether there’s smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, or other stuff that’s required by law.”

Stegenga recommended that the village include single-family rental properties in its fire safety inspection requirements.

Trustee Cheryl Baker asked whether inspections are intended to determine whether appliances are safe and unlikely to cause a fire. Stegenga explained that appliance-related fires often involve electrical outlets rather than the appliances themselves.

“Part of the inspection is looking at the water heaters, boilers, electrical panels, and all of the outlets,” Stegenga said.

She said a loose or damaged outlet can create a fire hazard inside a wall without residents immediately realizing there is a problem.

Mayor Becky Pearson asked how many single-family rental properties may not be complying with fire safety requirements.

Stegenga said she did not know the exact number but estimated there are at least 350 properties requiring attention.

“I can tell you that right now, we’re not doing good with fire safety,” Stegenga said. “I gave you guys the list that was there, and I have about 350 that would be violations that have not done their fire safety, have not done their reinspections, and have not registered. It’s really scary.”

Stegenga said some of the violations date back to 2023, before she became building inspector. The Building Department is working through the backlog of inspections.

She said the village currently has a fire safety officer who works one or two days a week. Between 900 and 1,000 inspections need to be completed, Stegenga said, averaging about three inspections per day.

Stegenga also asked the board to consider strengthening penalties for property owners who fail to register their properties, complete required inspections or correct violations.

“The only other thing I want to talk about with everyone is maybe strengthening the penalties for the people who don’t follow the rules, don’t register, don’t do the inspections, and don’t follow up on the inspections,” Stegenga said.

She said stronger enforcement is necessary because the consequences of failing to address fire hazards can be serious.

“It’s like if your mom said every time, ‘Hey, if you do that, I’m going to ground you,’ but she never followed through on the consequences,” Stegenga said. “In this case, the consequences could be that someone dies, and we’ve already experienced that once in this village. I don’t want to be the one that has to experience it again.”

The Board of Trustees will consider adding single-family rental properties to the village’s fire safety inspection requirements and strengthening penalties for fire safety and building code violations.