The Boulder Creek Fire Protection District has closed the Brookdale Inn and Spa until the owner mends a series of fire-safety violations.
On Aug. 31, Boulder Creek fire officials sent a notice of violation to Sanjiv Kakkar, the lodge’s owner, detailing the violations found during an inspection of the property.
The notice listed the details of the violations and included several problems which needed to be corrected within 30 days.
The violations had not been fully mended by the end of that time, and the business was shut down Friday, Oct. 7, according to fire Chief Kevin McClish. It will remain closed until everything is fixed.
“He can’t use any part of the business right now,” McClish said Monday, Oct. 10.
A visit to the property during normal business hours found all the lights off and red notices on the door stating the fire code violations.
Violations included:
**The lack of a fire alarm system for all the rooms and two buildings on the premises. The request was retroactive to 2008.
**The lack of a fire sprinkler system monitored by an alarm company.
**The fire extinguishers and hose cabinets needed to be serviced.
**The fire sprinkler system needed to be serviced.
McClish said Kakkar has begun to remedy the violations. An alarm company was contacted Sept. 25, the fire extinguishers were serviced Sept. 26 and the sprinklers were inspected Sept. 29.
“He’s taken steps, but he’s kind of taken too long,” McClish said, noting that he is working with Kakkar to get the lodge up to par.
McClish said there are several less pressing problems, too, such as wiring that needs replacement, a faulty panic alarm on the front door and sheetrock that has been compromised, which Kakkar applied for a building permit to repair Sept. 27.
In addition, the management company that ran the facility reportedly left several weeks ago. Kakkar could not be reached for comment, and phones at the lodge rang indefinitely.
Aside from code violations, Kakkar has battled a slew of problems since he purchased the hotel in 2007.
In 2008, a hotel kitchen worker poured cleaning fluid down a storm drain, which killed about 50 steelhead trout, resulting in a $17,000 fine in 2010.
In August 2009, a fire destroyed about a dozen apartments and displaced many people.
In September 2009, a 35-year-old man, Robin John Carlson, accidentally fell into a construction-related hole and fractured his skull. He later died at Stanford Medical Center. The man’s family sued Kakkar for negligence and settled before the case came before a jury. The settlement was finalized Sept. 22, 2011, eight days before the trial was to go before a jury.
Then, in 2010, six former employees sued Kakkar for wrongful termination, bounced paychecks and an assortment of other issues related to their work at Brookdale Inn. The case is pending.
