The Pajama Factory. SUN-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

The Williamsport Bureau of Codes didn’t err when it issued an unsafe building notice to immediately vacate the Pajama Factory July 22 because the complex of eight buildings did not have operational fire sprinkler systems and a fire alarm panel interconnected to emergency services, according to a decision made by a four-member Uniform Construction Code Board of Appeals.

That decision was obtained Friday by the Sun-Gazette after filing a state Right to Know request, as called for by city officials.

The board of Anthony Visco Jr., chairman; Dave Daneker, William Ertel, and Walter Nyman, said it reviewed testimony and exhibits of Pajama Factory owner Mark Winkelman’s Oct. 1 appeals hearing, where Winkelman asked for a variance because he said the city erred in issuing the unsafe building notice following a walk-through of a part of the complex by Williamsport Bureau of Fire inspector Stephen Yonkin. Yonkin said a full inspection was not done in his testimony.

The board said it considered the testimony and examined exhibits related to code violations for the Pajama Factory’s fire suppression systems.

The notice required Winkelman to either vacate the premises immediately or provide a fire watch 24/7 for all buildings in the Pajama Factory until the automatic fire protection system is inspected by an approved fire suppression system and the automatic sprinkler system has been approved as sufficient by the Bureau of Codes.

Winkelman said he struggled to retain an approximate $1,000-a-day fire watch service, which is one of the ways he could keep the complex open, and said he is in the process of bringing the eight-building complex up to what the Bureau of Code requires.

The nine-page ruling states Winkelman needs to retain fire watch and install numerous life safety improvements there or immediately have it vacated, potentially affecting 150 tenants and himself.

Additionally, in what the board did not rule on but which was an ongoing code deficiency issue at the building, the complex’s third and fourth floor areas that are occupied are not code compliant from the standpoint of having required certificates of occupancy as well as other deficiencies, according to Gary Knarr, city zoning and codes office administrator.

Winkelman has informed his tenants of the artisan and small business and nonprofit organization community along with the community as a whole through a letter to the editor asserting the true facts of the case and stated before the hearing on Oct. 1, that the Bureau of Codes order to vacate was an existential threat to the Pajama Factory and its tenants.

The board decided for buildings 7, 9 and 10 of the complex, a fire watch 24-hours-per-day, seven-days-a-week guard service will remain in effect until a new fire alarm panel is installed and is in full operation.

Full operation is met when the alarm panel is connected to a monitoring service which is able to contact emergency services, the ruling states. Fire watch may be terminated for those buildings upon installation and full operation of the fire alarm panel, according to the ruling.

For buildings 3, 4, 5, and 6, the second and third floors are to have interconnected smoke and fire detections systems installed where applicable, the ruling states. For those buildings, the ground floors are to have fire detection systems installed. The interconnected smoke and fire detection systems are temporary stop gap systems to be installed pending the installation of operational sprinkler systems in those buildings.

Meanwhile, fire watch is to continue until an automatic sprinkler system is in place for those buildings, however, fire watch is not required for the ground floors of buildings 3,4 and 5 once a fire detection system is installed, the ruling states.

Pajama Factory must coordinate with its architect of record and Bureau of Codes to determine timelines for the completion of the sprinkler system for the occupied spaces in buildings 3, 4, 5 and 6. The sprinkler system needs to be completed in buildings 3, 4, 5 and 6 before allowing occupancy on all floors, the ruling states.

The fire watch may comprise a single individual. The fire watch must be provided by a security company approved by the Bureau of Codes, the ruling states.

Winkelman must provide a weekly report from the security company detailing the hours of operation of the fire watch and a log of activities of the fire watch, the board ruled.

When asked to respond, Winkelman said he would when the terms are clarified and this should happen next week.