"Unfit for habitation" -- Pi Kappa Alpha House at U of Maine

[exlurker]

See Bangor newspaper article posting for details; this appears to be a situation where concerned parents acted appropriately:

http://bangordailynews.com/2011/09/1...or-habitation/

Excerpts from ^^:

Posted Sept. 15, 2011, at 5:07 p.m.
ORONO, Maine — The 22 University of Maine students who lived in the Pi Kappa Alpha — or PIKE — fraternity house have been relocated after town officials found housing violations and safety problems that forced them to shut down the building Tuesday.
. . . On Tuesday, the Orono Fire Department went to the fraternity house after a parent called to report an issue with the furnace and request that carbon monoxide levels be checked in the building, according to Orono Code Enforcement Officer William Murphy.

The fire chief called Murphy to the scene and the pair inspected the building, which had so many violations that they decided to close the house for the sake of the students’ safety.

Students were instructed to move out by 8 o’clock that night . . .
The building has not been condemned, but has been labeled unfit for habitation, Murphy said.

Robert Dana, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, . . . said he didn’t believe the students were getting enough support or aid to fix the building from national or local PIKE alums.

. . . Parents and residents had complained to town officials in the past about the condition of the building, and the group that owns the building — a housing corporation run by local fraternity alumni — promised to fix the problems, so the town didn’t take any action.

The repairs never happened, so parents started calling again in the past few weeks, prompting the inspection, according to Murphy.

Students were well aware of the problems with the building, Dana said, but didn’t have the resources to fix the problems themselves. . . .