The landlord of the Noyes Street apartment building that burned in a deadly fire in November was ordered Monday to fix code and safety violations at his two-unit building on Dartmouth Street in Portland.
A judge in Portland on Monday approved an agreement between the city and the landlord, Gregory Nisbet. The agreement required Nisbet to remove locks placed on individual rooms, clean up garbage and other debris, ensure smoke detectors are working, install a sprinkler head and provide a list of current tenants to the city by 5 p.m. that same day. He has another week to make repairs to the electrical systems, according to the consent decree.
Locks on individual bedroom doors are an indication that an apartment building is being operated as a rooming house, which requires a special city license and additional fire protections.
The city got a restraining order from the court a month ago to keep tenants out of the apartment at 188 Dartmouth St., where inspections prompted by tenant complaints found significant safety and code violations.
The new court-approved agreement says Nisbet cannot rent that apartment to new tenants without the city’s approval. Tenants continue to live in the other apartment at 186 Dartmouth St. The agreement requires all tenants to be screened and to sign written leases that are provided to the city.
“This judgment ensures that the city receives compliance with both properties and ultimately better safety for the current and any future tenants,” city spokeswoman Jessica Grondin said in a statement.
Meanwhile, prosecutors have yet to decide whether to bring criminal charges against Nisbet for the Nov. 1 blaze that killed six young adults at his two-family building at 20-24 Noyes St. in Portland.
The Cumberland County grand jury convened last week without being presented any evidence regarding whether Nisbet was at fault for a lack of smoke detectors and emergency exits in the building.
“I believe it’s still being reviewed,” said Tamara Getchell, a spokeswoman for the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office.
Nisbet’s attorney, Matthew Nichols, said he has exchanged some emails with the district attorney’s office.
But he has not yet been asked for a sit-down meeting or heard whether a future indictment against his client is possible.
“No news is good news,” Nichols said. “But if we get charged, like everyone else, we get a call from the clerk’s office.”
Nisbet is facing at least four civil wrongful death lawsuits by the relatives who hold him responsible for the deaths of their loved ones.
Staff Writer Scott Dolan contributed to this report.
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