Article: Fire escapes locked to control access.(News)

Smith said problems at Senator Park included fire extinguishers which had apparently not been serviced. He had for a number of years "been wrestling" with various landlords to improve the condition of their buildings.

"When an owner starts bringing in more and more tenants he stops screening them for criminal backgrounds etc. Soon these tenants start renting out their rooms to more people and the owner starts implementing access control measures. For example, they will lock the fire escapes and introduce turnstiles. If there's an emergency and the people need to get out, this creates a danger," Smith said.

He said in order to accommodate more tenants, ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!