105 businesses on Piñero Ave. not up to fire code
Fire Department Chief Ángel Crespo-Ortiz (right) discusses the proper way to handle a fire extinguisher during an on-site visit Thursday.
A round of inspections by the Puerto Rico Fire Department of businesses located along busy Piñero Avenue in San Juan uncovered that dozens of commercial establishments are not up to code, agency Chief Ángel Crespo-Ortiz said Thursday.
About 105 of 173 locations visited failed to produce current Fire Department certifications during the visits conducted in an effort to reduce fire-related risks, Crespo-Ortiz said.
“During these visits we found a high percentage of businesses that lacked current Fire Department endorsements, so we proceeded to orient owners or staff about getting the Internal Revenue stamp, so that our inspectors could grant the endorsement, as long as they didn’t need to make major corrections to comply with the Fire Prevention Code,” he said.
As a result, 36 businesses took the opportunity to become current, while the remaining were given a grace period to do the same and avoid a $500 fine, he said.
Similar on-site inspections will take place weekly, in all 78 municipalities, the Fire chief said.
