By Maryann Batlle
The Naples Daily News
NAPLES, Fla. — The fire turned them into scavengers.
Joanne Finney’s family and friends picked through ashes and debris to find what was left of her life.
They found her prom picture, frame cracked, charred and covered in cinder. A singed Bible without a cover protected a bookmark that assured in poetry, God “always takes the best.”
On March 24, flames devoured the aging stilt duplex she rented on Fort Myers Beach.
In the days it took the Lee County Medical Examiner to confirm Joanne Finney died, her family and friends set up a memorial for her where the duplex once stood on the corner of Anchorage Street and Estero Boulevard.
They asked how such a loss could be possible.
Her younger sister, Tara Finney, blames state law that exempts single- and two-family homes from annual fire inspections.
The Fort Myers Beach duplex consumed in the fire was built more than 40 years ago, according to Lee County property appraiser records. Joanne Finney was too intimidated by her landlord to ask for repairs, Tara Finney said.
“This place is what you call ‘fall through the cracks,’ ” Tara Finney said.
The state exemption and a patchwork of building code requirements throughout Southwest Florida means older rentals in Lee and Collier Counties, like the one Joanne Finney lived in, can go without proper fire safety measures -- such as smoke detectors or more than one exit -- unless a tenant or neighbor complains, said local fire marshals who spoke to the Daily News.
Lee property appraiser records show the duplex is owned by 3749 Estero LLC. Daniel von Rabenau, who lives in Chicago, is listed as a contact. Attempts to reach von Rabenau via telephone, email and social media were unsuccessful.
An investigation classified the duplex fire’s origin as “undetermined” because of a lack of physical evidence, said Ron Martin, Fort Myers Fire Marshal.
Martin said he never inspected Joanne Finney’s duplex before the blaze because of the state exemption, and any evidence that might have confirmed whether the duplex had fire code violations was burned away.
Martin told Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District commissioners on Tuesday he intends to draft a rule change that would require annual fire code inspections of non-owner occupied single- and two-family homes used on the island as short- or long-term rentals.
“We have come across structures that are in dilapidated conditions,” Martin told the fidgeting commissioners. “We need to act.”
Other local fire marshals said Martin would face hurdles getting those changes passed.
Pushback is likely because of the philosophy behind exempting single-family and two-family homes, said Robert Rogers, Fire Marshal in the city of Naples.
“Your home is your castle, and you can do what you want in your own home,” Rogers said. “It doesn’t affect anybody else if you’re doing something stupid.”
Since 2001, the state of Florida has had a uniform fire code that gets updated every three years, said Timothy Fernandez, Bonita Springs Fire Marshal.
The state’s version, like any fire code, is reactive not proactive, he said, and revisions usually happen after tragedy.
“It’s a book of obituaries, when you think about it,” said Fernandez said. “Fire code has evolved, has been written, because of loss of life.”
Fernandez said municipal building and code enforcement departments work in concert with fire officials to make sure exempt homes are safe, but some dwellings still fall out of reach.
Bonita Springs adopted the International Property Maintenance Code that allows code enforcement to apply fire safety standards to single-family homes and duplexes, said Frank Cassidy, Bonita Springs Code Enforcement Director.
The city also requires that every rental property obtain a permit and go through a code enforcement inspection that includes a review of smoke detectors, said Cassidy.
Rogers said Naples Fire Department has two staff members that conduct construction plan reviews and have offices in the city’s building department.
“So whenever there is a question of one code versus another, they get together and talk about it,” Rogers said.
Modern building codes have fire safety requirements built in, so new construction and older homes that are being renovated have to adhere before moving forward, said Rogers.
“But then there’s other people in town where that single family rental has been like that since the ‘50s and it hasn’t changed much,” Rogers said. “There’s things that are beyond our control. It’s just the nature of how it’s been written in the state.”
There is no perfect model and communities can reject standards that residents view as annoyances, Cassidy said.
“It’s instances like this that always remind us what the real value of what we do is. That is the protection of life safety,” he said. “That is oftentimes overshadowed by the perceived nuisance of the ordinance.”
Tenants can certainly speak up and report any issues to fire officials, but people who are paying low rent or feel they would be evicted if they do may stay silent, said Ray Munyon, Marco Island fire marshal.
“Who is going to want to complain?” Munyon said.
Joanne Finney’s friends and family call the site of the fire that claimed her life, “The Ruins.”
Blackened sticks of wood stick up from the sand. Rusted appliances are scattered. Joanne Finney’s Jeep, parked where she left it, looks like a missile struck it. Its back bumper is melted. Its paint and windows are gone.
The flames that tore through the duplex ignited a propane tank and fueled the flames, fire officials said. Some of Joanne Finney’s pets died with her. The family buried the remains of one dog and planned to cremate another.
Beyond the caution tape, some of Joanne Finney’s loved ones gathered under her favorite tree, a mahogany she adorned with relics: holiday lights, shells, crosses, a pair of boots -- hanging by laces -- meant to honor one of her favorite comedians, Charlie Chaplin.
Robert Richendollar, her brother-in-law of 14 years, said Joanne’s tree is part of island folklore now.
“The story is rain started to fall, and they brought her body under the tree, and the clouds opened up,” said Richendollar, spoking with the detectable awe of imagination because he wasn’t there to see it happen. “She was back under her tree, in her garden, one last time.”
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(c)2015 the Naples Daily News (Naples, Fla.)
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