The Jackson Fire Department has not inspected Thalia Mara Hall since 2022 due to a lack of inspectors currently employed.
The announcement came from Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba during a Monday press conference at The Ice House Venue, which is set to be the site of the “State of the City” on Oct. 13. It’s the latest update to the downtown venue, which has been closed since Aug. 1 due to the finding of “microbial activity.” A later report released by the city found three types of mold, which occurred after a malfunction of the venue’s HVAC system.
The last time JFD inspected Thalia Mara, which was built in the 1960s, they found one violation. The fire extinguishers were not “serviced, nor tagged,” according to Deputy Fire Chief Elliott Holmes who also spoke at the press conference.
“When we did our inspection that was corrected,” Holmes said. “Now, true enough we haven’t been out there (to Thalia Mara Hall) since 2022 because at the same time when dealing with the fire department we do have a shortfall of inspectors. We try to get to each building throughout the city on an annual basis, but sometimes that cannot be done.”
The plan is for JFD to do another inspection of Thalia Mara Hall once a remediation team is done repairing the mold that was found, which forced its closure. Holmes added that a lot of violations found by both the state fire marshal and JFD are “things that can happen a day after.”
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“As far as when you’re talking about a blocked entrance or maybe a malfunction here and there,” he said. “Those things can happen at any building at any time.”
The announcement also comes two weeks after the Mississippi State Fire Marshal’s Office inspected the downtown venue and found over 20 violations, though Lumumba contends they are “minor.” Before the Sept. 9 inspection, the state marshal had never inspected Thalia Mara, according to Chief Deputy Fire Marshal Connie Dolan.
“To my knowledge we have never inspected it,” Dolan said in an email. “City buildings generally fall under the City Fire Inspectors/Fire Marshal Division of the Fire Department. We get involved when there is a complaint of life safety.”
Part of the fire marshal’s inspection stated the city had 10 business days to contact the state fire marshal’s office with “a plan of action or (to) make necessary corrections.”
Lumumba stated the issues will be addressed once the mold has been repaired in Thalia Mara and the venue is opened back up. Addressing the violations found in the fire marshal’s inspection, Lumumba said “these aren’t things that take months” and called them “minor.”
Those violations include, blocked entrances, combustibles stored around a flammable storage locker improper or out-of-date fire extinguishers, missing ceiling tiles, breakers missing from electrical boxes and broken exit signs. The inspection also noted mold growing on “floors, seating, rails etc.…” and “human waste products” along the upper outside balcony of the venue, which was a result of the city’s homeless using the balcony as a place to rest and sleep.
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The mayor said he was not worried about if the state decided to “red-tag” the building, meaning shutting it down.
“If they decide to red tag it, it will be an extra layer of protection for a building that no one’s in. There’s no activity going on in Thalia Mara Hall because we are doing repairs. If we want to waste the tape, come on,” Lumumba said.
Updates on remediation and repairs to Thalia Mara Hall can be found every Thursday on the city’s website.
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