HARMONY — The borough has commercial buildings that are overdue to receive a fire inspection and could have violations, according to borough fire marshal Tim Sapienza.

Sapienza, a former Harmony fire chief, said he recently observed suspected fire hazards and potential problems at the U.S. Liner Co. manufacturing plant on Ziegler Street.

He went there after getting complaints from residents, he told borough council Tuesday night.

One fire hydrant was blocked by discarded palettes while another was covered with snow. There also was debris on the creek bed that would wash away in a flood, he said.

Sapienza said he trusts the company will comply when notified of the violations, but the borough should be more proactive with doing inspections for the safety of its residents.

“It comes down to we have gotten away from our fire inspections,” he said.

Allen Bayer, who does zoning and code enforcement for residential buildings in the borough, said he was in the process of writing U.S. Liner a violation for the palettes blocking a hydrant and restricting access for emergency vehicles.

U.S. Liner did not return phone calls for comment about this issue.

Bayer said he is not certified to do the commercial fire inspections, which are done in the borough by Pennsylvania Construction Inspection in Cochranton, Crawford County.

Tom McCosby, an inspector with PCI, said the property owners are responsible for arranging the inspections. He said he does not have a list of buildings or specific instructions to do periodic inspections.

PCI only inspects a couple buildings in the borough each year and has never done an inspection at U.S. Liner, he said.

The 2008 ordinance requires businesses to get a certificate of registration before the building can be occupied.

The certificate must be reviewed every year.

The ordinance also states a third party should do inspections “on a rotating basis” using the standards set in the International Fire Code.

McCosby said most violations typically found on the commercial inspections are minor such as out-of-date fire extinguishers or dead batteries in smoke detectors.

“The building has to be as safe as it was the day it was built,” he said talking about the inspection rules.

The state only requires inspections on new construction and certain kinds of buildings, such as schools and nursing homes, although Harmony has additional requirements, McCosby said.

Borough solicitor Matt Racunas said at the council meeting he would review the borough’s contract with PCI to see what the company is supposed to be doing with regard to inspections.

Racunas said he also would review the ordinance and the International Fire Code and return to council with recommendations or options for further action at its April meeting.

“I think the intention of the borough is to begin doing the fire inspections again,” Racunas said.

Council President Greg Such said the cost of the inspections is paid for by the business or property owner to PCI.

The borough would only incur expenses if it needed to take an offender to court over a violation, he said.