Fire Deaths Prompt Northwest Ohio Apartment Inspections

Safety officials are inspecting more than 250 apartment and condominium buildings near Toledo, Ohio, following the March deaths of two people in a blaze at an apartment complex plagued by fires.

That fire destroyed a 24-unit building and displaced about 70 people. It was the fourth major fire in the past 12 years at the complex that sits alongside the Ohio Turnpike.

The Blade in Toledo reports the buildings’ attics lacked partitions that were required under building codes and intended to slow the spread of a fire.

The blaze at the complex has spurred fire officials in Springfield Township to check similar buildings. They determined four buildings in the same complex also lack the so-called fire stops.

Investigators believe the March fire was intentionally set but have made no arrests.