ORLANDO, Fla. -- Orlando leaders will consider updating city codes on Monday to help ensure homes have smoke detectors and meet other fire prevention requirements.
- Firefighters found more than 100 homes without working detectors in Parramore area
- Fire department wants Minimum Standards Code updated
- Updates will target landlords who haven't modernized their buildings
"In the city of Orlando we want to make sure our residents have a safe place to live in, so code enforcement and fire department are pairing together to make sure all those houses are up to par to what we would want for living conditions," said Orlando Fire District Chief Walter Lewis.
Earlier this month two people were killed, including a girl, in a house fire with no working smoke alarm off Lescot Lane.
In addition, after a deadly house fire off Parramore Avenue at the beginning of the New Year, code enforcement conducted a sweep of 215 homes in the area. They found more than half do not have a working smoke detector. A third of residents, according to their sweep, were using space heaters as their only heat source.
Code enforcement and the fire department are pushing for revisions to the city's Minimum Standards Code to incorporate portions of the International Maintenance Code.
They are targeting landlords who may have not updated their buildings to current safety standards.
"We'll notify the landlord and they'll have seven to 10 days to remedy the issue, and then if that is not taken care of, code enforcement has the ability to step in and hold them accountable, even to a fine of up to a thousand dollars a day," said Lewis.
Their hope is that the code updates will provide more clarity for fire prevention, fire protection and heating requirements, so that landlords will update their buildings and save lives.
The Orlando City Council will consider the code changes at their meeting Monday at 2 p.m.
So far there have been five killed this year in house fires in Orlando.
Information from Orlando Fire Department on fatal fires so far this year:
Jan. 2 -- 416 South Parramore Ave.: accidental, space heater detected. One fatality.
Jan. 15 -- 111 North Lee Ave.: accidental, space heater plus multiple ignitable items including books, cigarette butts, candles. One fatality.
March 18 -- 1121 West South St.: accidental, power cord providing power from one part of the house to another as power was out for a week. One fatality.
July 8 -- 5298 Lescot Lane: One female child succumbed to her injuries on scene. One female adult succumbed to her injures at the hospital where she was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center.