West Haven Fire Chief Michael Terenzio first realized the prevalence of unregulated apartments in 2023, when just over half of the city’s fires were in areas that shouldn’t have had people living there.
Now, the Allingtown department is cracking down on illegal apartments in the city, which are often hidden in a building’s attic or basement.
The problem is particularly acute in one- or two-family homes used as off-campus housing near the University of New Haven campus, according to Terenzio.
“They're trying to make some additional money, by renting these areas and getting them under the code,” Terenzio said. “All you have to do is drive around some of these areas – just as firefighters should be doing anyway – we look at a building and we can tell whether or not it's occupied on one level, two levels, or even three levels.”
To combat the illegal apartments, three Allingtown firefighters recently received additional fire marshal certifications to conduct housing inspections, Terenzio said. The program is funded for the next three years with hopes to continue.
Firefighters will identify suspected unregulated apartments through canvassing, property record research and existing department records. Trained firefighters can often spot signs of a potentially illegal apartment from the curb.
“Additional mailboxes, additional dish antennas – even additional electric meters, which leads us to suspect that there's additional people that may be in there,” Terenzio said.
While those signs may be visible to the discerning eye from the outside, illegal apartments are most often discovered when an emergency happens in the building.
“A lot of these things we find incidentally, while we're on scene for a medical call or a fire incident,” Allingtown Deputy Fire Marshal Stephen Grodzicki said. “From there, there's some things we can do while we're on scene, and other times we refer to the fire marshal's office.”
Property owners are contacted when there’s a suspected illegal apartment. Sometimes, the issue gets fixed before the fire department steps in, Grodzicki said.
To be at code, apartments must include two exit doors and at least one emergency exit, such as a fire escape or a large window. They also must have ceilings at least 7 feet high, according to West Haven Fire Marshal Keith Flood.
When property owners fail to comply with those regulations, the fire marshal gets inside, inspects the property and relocates the illegal tenants. Renters in illegal apartments are often moved in with family members or utilize the city’s relocation program.
“It kind of works out a little better with them going with people they know, versus staying in a hotel,” Flood said. “That is really what happens when these people get caught in the go-between, not knowing it's an illegal unit, and then occupying that unit.”
