A small basement fire Wednesday evening left nine adults temporarily homeless after it exposed what the city code officer called unlivable conditions.

Fire Chief Nick Ban said firefighters responded to 305 N. Bluff St. on a fire call shortly before 5 p.m. Ban was accompanied by Sean Gramz, the city code enforcement officer, to whom he was speaking at the time of the call.

While firefighters quickly extinguished the fire in the basement of the home, Ban and Gramz noticed a plethora of alleged building code violations at the property, which was divided into four apartment units.

“It’s unfit for human occupation,” Gramz said, adding the violations include an absence of smoke detectors as well as gas and electrical issues.

The building was condemned, and tenants will not be allowed to occupy the structure until repairs are made.

Ban said it was substandard wiring that caused the fire, which resulted in less than $500 worth of damage.

The 305 N. Bluff St. home was split into a duplex, with a 242 W. Brady St. apartment being improperly labeled. That section of the home, which was vacant, is where the fire occurred.

The garage beside the home was labeled as 307 N. Bluff St., and had an upstairs and downstairs apartment, Ban said.

The apartments belong to Dave Schultz.

Schultz, of Renfrew, also owns the property at 239 W. Brady St.

That building too was under threat of condemnation until he eventually added five smoke detectors later that night. The building still was cited for different violations.

Schultz declined to comment on the situation.

Gramz said Schultz was under notice for past violations.

Peoples TWP and West Penn Power were notified and cut gas and electrical services to the homes.

“Once they saw the apartments, they terminated their services,” Ban said.

Both utilities will need to be turned back on before the tenants can return. That won’t happen until the landlord makes the necessary repairs.

Both Ban and Gramz said the issue with landlords renting substandard housing in the city is widespread.

“It a huge problem in the city,” Ban said.

“Unbelievable huge,” Gramz said. “Landlords need to be held responsible.”

Mary Shelatree and her family live in 307 N. Bluff St. apartments.

“The fire department just told me it’s not livable,” Shelatree said. “Now I don’t know what to do. We have no place to go.”

She said she lived in the home for about a year.

“We’re going to be out walking the streets tonight,” she said.

Shelatree said she had just paid a $150 deposit for the apartment labeled 242 W. Brady St. She said her 2-month-old granddaughter was just about to move into the home with her.

Tammy Ealy was one of five people living in 305 N. Bluff St. address.

She said she was not aware the home was not up to code, but said it had its share of noticeable issues.

She said the building had smoke detectors, but added she didn’t think they worked. She said the home also has an insect problem.

Both families, who own a variety of pets, including dogs, reptiles, turtles and ferrets, are searching for new places to live.

City police also are investigating a pair of small suspected marijuana plants that were found in one of the buildings.

The suspected starter plants in hanging pots were discovered in a kitchen sink, according to a police report.

Eagle staff writer Jim Smith contributed to this report.