PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The city of Portland has hired a housing safety administrator to oversee the city’s new Housing Safety Office.
The hiring of Art Howe follows a City Council vote on recommendations of the city’s fire and code inspections task force, created after a fire killed six tenants last Nov. 1. Authorities said the apartment house didn’t have working smoke detectors, clear stairwells and a second means of escape from an upstairs bedroom.
The Housing Safety Office is tasked with implementing a risk-based prioritization process for inspections; conducting inspections; and overseeing and enforcing a landlord registration ordinance.
Howe formerly served as fire chief in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and fire safety code inspector in Connecticut. He’s currently a safety and risk management consultant.
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