PORTLAND, Maine - The owner of a Portland duplex where six people died in a fire last month is under fresh scrutiny this week.
Greg Nisbet, who faces legal action over the deadly November fire at his apartment building on Noyes Street, has been told to fix fire safety issues at another building he owns in the same neighborhood.
Portland city officials came to inspect a rental property on Dartmouth Street on Monday, following complaints from tenants. Stephen Soldan says he's been complaining about living conditions to his landlord, Greg Nisbet, ever since he moved there in April. Among the problems he and the other eight tenants say they face is water damage.
"This is all the water damage, the black mold," Soldan says, pointing to where patches of mold have appeared on the walls. In one spot, two maggots can be seen.
"Black mold is building up inside of the walls," Soldan says. "We have crystalline mold building up inside the cabinets, which is a sodium kind of deposit. Chances are if it's coming from the toilet, I imagine it's from urine. So it's a buildup, people are getting sick."
Soldan says he's been suffering with dry sinuses, respiratory problems and other ailments since moving into the apartment. He and fellow tenant Roxann White decided to complain to the city last month. He says the final straw was when water started to leak from the upstairs bathroom - a lot of it.
"There was about 200 gallons of water leaking through - through this light, spitting out our sockets," he says. "We were told not to use the electricity. It was a waterfall coming out of this light."
And then there are the fire safety concerns - starting with the furnace. "Our furnace is 104 years old, and it's very obvious that it's not been cleaned for a number of years," Soldan says. "There's no certificate on it."
Soldan says there was only one smoke detector in the apartment when he moved in and it wasn't working properly. He says Nisbet eventually installed more - but only after months of complaining. "They were put in towards the end," he says. "We had been asking for them for nine months."
City officials wouldn't provide comment on inspections, but Soldan says the fire department has given Nisbet 30 days to fix a number of fire code violations, including electrical issues and furnace safety.
Greg Nisbet's attorney, John Veilleux, says in a statement: "There is a landlord-tenant matter at the188 Dartmouth Street property that relates to damage caused by a now-former tenant of that building. Mr. Nisbet is attempting to deal with these issues, but will not comment on any details at this time."