Auditors saw fire safety hazards including improperly stowed extinguishers; gaps in walls designed to be fire-resistant; fire doors that did not self-close; and missing / damaged evacuation diagrams. Image: Ameer Mussard-Afcari/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffGSA’s Public Building Service “did not fully comply with applicable laws, regulations, and PBS policies governing fire protection, worker safety, and accessibility” at the major federal office building in New York City, an inspector general report has said.
The PBS further did not notify those working at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building of those risks in a timely way, it said. The building is the largest federal office building outside the national capital area, housing many federal agencies and several federal courts, the report said.
In walking through the building, auditors saw fire safety hazards including improperly stowed portable fire extinguishers; gaps in walls designed to be fire-resistant; fire doors that did not self-close; and missing and damaged fire evacuation route diagrams.
Examples of other safety hazards included “instances where leaking water created puddling on the floor, and rain created puddling on the roof”; a mechanical room that “has likely had leaks for quite some time”; and missing signage to warn of slip hazards.
“Without corrective actions, proper monitoring, and timely notification of safety risks, these deficiencies can result in safety and health hazards for building tenants, workers, and visitors,” it said, adding that the issues “primarily resulted from inadequacies in O&M contractor performance and PBS Region 2 oversight.”
The report also said that one entrance is not disability-accessible and lacks signage to direct visitors to the nearest accessible entrance. The same is true of one of the public restrooms, it said. Further, the PBS did not timely notify building occupants of findings of a 2023 safety survey that “revealed several moderate safety hazards.”
It said GSA management agreed with recommendations to address each of those findings.
The report is the latest in a series from the IG and the GAO calling attention to health, safety and security risks at federal buildings, which have the common theme of inadequate maintenance. The GSA recently said that that the maintenance backlog is accelerating in light of years-long underfunding for “critical building life-safety and infrastructure needs.”
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