Maine City Considers Housing Complaint Database After Deadly Fire

Portland, Maine officials may roll out a centralized database for tracking housing complaints in response to a deadly November fire that killed six people.

The Portland Press Herald reports the city is also getting ready to unveil a new mobile- and Web-based program that will allow residents to anonymously report housing problems and other issues to city staff. A city task force is expected to meet on Wednesday to begin developing a plan for what Portland’s future inspection programs will look like.

The house fire that killed six happened in a house that had been the subject of 16 complaints since 2003. City records show code officers tried to reach landlord Gregory Nesbit in June but he didn’t return the call. Investigators are still determining the fire’s cause.