Code officials announced yesterday that a landlord was not in compliance with borough fire ordinances following a blaze that destroyed an apartment on South Pugh Street Nov. 14.

Rodney Hendricks, who manages the Marvin Gardens complex where the fire broke out, is also facing a wrongful death lawsuit for the 2005 death of a Penn State student in a house fire. That death contributed to the creation of the current ordinance that Hendricks was found to have violated about two weeks ago, according to a press release.

The Centre Region Code Administration conducted an investigation last month into the Marvin Gardens fire and found numerous violations of the 2005 borough ordinance that requires, among other things, smoke detectors in every bedroom of rental units, according to a press release.

The code administration's investigation concluded that at that time of the fire, there were no smoke detectors in the bedrooms of the destroyed apartment or the common stairwell between apartments as required by local code.

Hendricks has been cleared of any borough citations for the November fire because he corrected all violations within 48 hours of the inspection following the fire. The complex now meets all fire safety code requirements, according to the code administration.

Hendricks could still face criminal charges, which are contingent on what the fire marshal finds during an investigation into the cause of the fire. The fire marshal, who was unavailable for comment yesterday, is still investigating.

According to the press release, five hours after the Marvin Gardens fire was contained, code officials conducted an emergency inspection and found that 40 of the 46 apartments had smoke detectors in every bedroom. Hendricks purchased more than 100 smoke alarms after the fire and had maintenance staff install the detectors in the apartments before the inspection, according to the press release. Hendricks could not be reached for comment by press time yesterday.

Senior Fire and Housing Inspector Tim Knisley also said the batteries in the apartment's only smoke alarm were removed by the residents because it became a nuisance when it frequently activated while the kitchen was being used. Knisley said the tenants of apartment 31 were fined for removing the batteries from their smoke detector. The violation carries a minimum $150 fine.

Knisley said the tenants were lucky to wake up as smoke filled the apartment. If the smoke detector had been functional, the residents could have escaped earlier and it would not have been necessary for firefighters or police officers to risk injury in assisting them.

"They escaped with just the clothes they were wearing," he said.

Due to the heating system used in the Marvin Gardens complex, 23 apartments also required carbon monoxide detectors, which were not present at the inspection on Nov. 14., according to the press release.

Code administrators also inspected the Marvin Gardens complex following a fire in April when a tenant said he fell asleep holding a lit cigarette. At the time, the ordinance was not in effect, Knisley said.