A secret hidden apartment with 5 ft ceilings and dangers it posed to tennant and authoirties.

 A Reals Estate Customer of mine recently bought a Run down Apartment Building in a higher end neighborhood in Pittsburgh's South Hills. with the purpose of bringing it up to code and providing safe decent housing. 

While walking thru and examining what all would need done to bring it up to modern standards which includes new Fire System , Electrical and Heating  a most unusual situation developed when a set of steps

which was believed to lead up from a Boiler / Laundry and Storage Room lead not to the rear entrance of one of the 9 apartments . But to a Secret Apartment no one knew about. not even local authorities

I had to bend down to even enter it as ceilings where only 5 ft high and at 6 ft plus was an interesting experience.

It was a full apartment with Living  Kitchen and Bedroom with tiny stall for toilet and separate sink and shower stall it even had cable TV 

Found out a elderly widow lived there for very cheap rent  but at what personnel danger to her. 

because there was only one way out and of there was a fire in kitchen she would have been trapped .not only that if building was on fire she would have to make her way out of that combination boiler room. 

The other big danger we found the apartment was filling with natural gas after pilot lights went out on the stove 

Needless to say this are will never again be used as a domicile and instead be used for maintenance storage. 

But as one fire official i showed these pictures to said this is the type of situation which leads to nightmares when there are fires or explosions not knowing some one is in that apartment .

You have to wonder how many more of these type of secret apartments are around the region.

Back in 80s. there was a big blow up in papers when it was discovered there was a Secret Pent House Apartment in an Office building owned by Al Monzo  on Mosside Blvd 

Officials in Monroeville where also caught off guard when they discoved a unpermitted addition to the rear of the Demarco durzo Building on mosside as well. 

. This has always been a problem after inspectors sign off on a building and owners decide to do their own thing and it is never noted in the As Built Plans Fire Officials use when tackling problems in a building on fire.