on April 13, 2012 at 8:18 AM As temperatures begin to rise in the New Orleans area, air conditioner window units run longer. And some catch fire, warns the New Orleans Fire Department. A fire Wednesday in Algiers, for example, sparked on a spring day when the high at 1:49 p.m. was 86 degrees -- one degree shy of the record set in 1999. The New Orleans Fire Department received a call at 1:47 p.m. about a fire on the second floor of a townhouse at 3502 Vespasian Blvd. It started in a window unit and spread to the curtains and window frame, said Jonathan Pajeaud, a department spokesman. Firefighters put it out before flames charred other parts of the structure. Firefighters arrived at 1:52 p.m.; the blaze was under control at 2:40 p.m., Pajeaud said. A "middle-aged" woman in the townhouse was helped from the second floor by a neighbor and she was not burned, he said. She was taken to Touro Hospital to make sure she was not injured by smoke inhalation. Once she arrived at the hospital, however, "she got out of the ambulance and left," he said.

Fires sparked by window units "are not uncommon," said Pajeaud, who speculated dozens occur each year and warned that area residents with window units may want to take precautions as summer approaches. The exact count last year for such fires in New Orleans was not available immediately, he said. The nation's Fire Administration shares NOFD's concerns about window-unit mishaps. "Although window and wall air conditioning units account for 35 percent of the air-conditioning equipment in residences, they cause 55 percent of air-conditioning equipment fires," according to the U.S. Fire Administration. "This may be due to smaller, undersized wiring that was not designed to carry the power load required by air-conditioning equipment. Homes with central air conditioners generally have dedicated circuits appropriately sized for this equipment." In many cases, air conditioner units run at full capacity during the hottest summer months and are not always routinely inspected or maintained, often causing the mechanical failures or malfunctions that result in fire, according to the agency that provides national leadership in fire prevention and preparedness.

Pajeaud recommends anyone using a window unit take the following precautions: * Make sure a unit is installed so that it leans slightly outside, preventing water from dripping onto electrical parts.hidden ac unit * Make sure the circuit breaker conforms with the amperage of the window unit so the breaker will work if a malfunction occurs.ac unit carrier * Do not use extension cords or a power strip "because they may overload and catch fire."ac unit placement * Do not run the window unit's power cord under a carpet or rug because someone walking on the cord might crack its insulation, starting a fire. * Keep the unit's air filter clean. * And make sure your smoke detector is working properly.Ask Real Estate is a weekly column that answers questions from across the New York region.

.I live in a co-op building and have an air-conditioner in my living room window, which is one of two windows that look out onto the fire escape. The air-conditioner does not block access to the fire escape. However, my building manager says city rules prohibit an air-conditioner in a fire escape window. But the Bureau of Fire Prevention told me that I could have one in that window as long as it does not extend out onto the fire escape. Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer, and many New Yorkers will likely spend part of it hoisting unwieldy air-conditioners into their apartment windows. I imagine some of them are eyeing their fire escape windows as a prime location for such an installation. But they should pause, as a fire escape is not an unofficial balcony to be adorned with potted plants or blocked by an air-conditioner. A fire escape is what its name suggests: an escape route for people fleeing or fighting a fire. And it should be free of obstructions. “There should be a focus on safety, fire safety to be specific,” said Joel E. Abramson, a Manhattan real estate lawyer.

The arrangement you described might be permitted by city rules. In general, residents are prohibited from installing air-conditioners in fire escape windows. But they can install one in a fire escape window if the apartment has a second window onto the fire escape that is large enough to be used as an emergency exit. Keep in mind that the alternate window must be large and easily accessible. (A small bathroom window, for example, would not suffice.) The air-conditioner should not extend more than five inches onto the fire escape balcony or obstruct the flow of foot traffic, according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. So if the unit you installed blocks the fire escape in any way, it should go. And even if it doesn’t, you still might want to consider a safer alternative. We recently bought a home with a 250-year-old oak tree in the backyard that extends above the neighbors’ property. The tree’s branches show signs of having been trimmed regularly above our yard, but not above the neighbor’s yard.

As a result, the lopsided tree has developed a slight lean toward the neighbors’ house and yard. A contractor mentioned casually that the tree was likely to fall at some point, and that it would fall toward the neighbors’ property. (If it falls, it could hit their house.) I don’t particularly want to remove the tree, because that would be several thousand dollars and it appears relatively healthy. What is the right legal and ethical thing to do here?For more than two centuries that oak tree has been spreading its limbs, oblivious to municipal property lines and state law. The tree might know no boundaries, but the law certainly does: The tree is your responsibility, although your neighbor is allowed to prune overhanging branches. The hanging branches constitute a nuisance, and your neighbor could sue you. You also could be liable for damages caused by falling branches or a falling tree. “At the end of the day, the letter writer could be liable,” said Gemma M. Giantomasi, a New Jersey real estate lawyer.

“Especially in light of the fact that the letter writer has been made aware of the dangerous condition.”Get the tree evaluated by an arborist, preferably one with a tree risk assessment qualification certified by the International Society of Arboriculture. An arborist should be able to point out hazardous conditions, look for signs of disease or decay and suggest remedies. “It sounds like this tree needs at a minimum a professional assessment and probably a pruning — hopefully not a removal,” said Bob Redman, a New York City arborist. Get more than one opinion, particularly if the arborist suggests removing the tree. “A tree that large and old is worth a lot in terms of money, beauty and other benefits,” Mr. Redman said.My husband and I bought a single room occupancy building with plans to convert it to a two-family home. After about a year of renovations, we applied for a certificate of occupancy inspection, which turned up an outstanding $1,000 boiler violation from the 1990s, which we paid.

Follow-up inspections found open permits and Buildings Department violations that predate our purchase, totaling about $50,000 in repairs and fines. Shouldn’t the title company or the lawyer have caught these issues during the buying process? Do we have any recourse?As a buyer, you are expected to do your due diligence. For example, if you had consulted with an architect before you closed on the property, he or she could have helped assess the outstanding violations, open permits and the scope of the work ahead, said Lisa R. Radetsky, a Manhattan real estate lawyer. With that information, you might have been able to negotiate a reduced price.Changing the certificate of occupancy for any property is complicated, and single room occupancies, or S.R.O.’s, are notoriously troublesome. “S.R.O.’s are often, if not typically, poorly managed properties with many violations and deferred maintenance issues,” said David A. Kaminsky, a Manhattan real estate lawyer. The owner must also obtain a “certificate of no harassment of the tenants” from the city before starting renovations, which can take months.