Fort Smith (Apr 17/06) - The fire marshal has grown tired of waiting for fire hazards to be eliminated at Fort Smith's Pinecrest Hotel.

Bernie Van Tighem has ordered that the hotel - which he ordered closed on Dec. 2 - be torn down within a month.

However, Van Tighem says that if the owners come up with some funding and a plan to repair the building, the removal order can be reviewed.

"We've gotten to a point where there's no substantial work done," Van Tighem says. "It just doesn't look like it's going to happen."

The situation couldn't be allowed to go on indefinitely, he adds. "It just had to be resolved."

When the hotel was closed in December, about 30 long-time residents were forced to find other accommodations.

Hotel manager Bruce Gordier could not be reached last week for comment.

Van Tighem has also directed that the 50-year-old landmark in downtown Fort Smith be sealed so no one can enter it.

That process was begun early last week by the operators, but was not being done to Van Tighem's satisfaction.

On April 11, the fire marshal hired contractors to properly board up the building and disconnect services.

Since it was ordered closed in December, three people had been allowed to stay at the hotel as a fire watch. Work crews were also allowed in during the day.

Van Tighem said the original order in December gave the owners until Jan. 6 to have plans in place to fix up the building. That order was extended to Jan. 31.

The building was originally closed for a number of reasons, including a non-functioning alarm system, uncertainty whether the sprinkler system worked, missing structural separations to restrict the spread of fire and smoke, missing stairs and blocked exits, and improper storage of combustible materials.

If the building is not torn down according to the April 7 order, Van Tighem says, under the Fire Prevention Act, he can arrange to have it removed and try to recover costs.

Or, he can turn the building over to the Town of Fort Smith to have the building removed, and the municipality can try to recover costs through taxation.

Van Tighem is not sure how much it would cost to remove the building.

Mayor Peter Martselos says the town has not been contacted by the fire marshal about the building's possible removal. "I hope some solution can be found in the very near future," Martselos says.

The mayor says the fire marshal gave the hotel quite a bit of time to make repairs before issuing the removal order. "So I don't think the fire marshal was given any choice."