MW Horticulture issued non-compliance notice, stop-work order continues

Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published: Updated:
[FILE] Fire at MW Horticulture facility in south Fort Myers. (Credit: WINK News)

MW Horticulture has been issued a notice of non-compliance and a stop-work order will remain in effect after a fire burned there continuously for almost a dozen days last month.

The inspection of the facility was conducted on Friday by the San Carlos Fire District. The fire chief took the weekend to review what they found. They released their results on Monday and found issues at the site off Old US-41 in Lee County.

The fire chief decided not enough had changed at the property to lift the stop-work order. With that in place, it means the company cannot accept any new work. The stop-work order will remain in effect until the site is brought into fire code compliance and there is no longer active smoldering on the site, the fire district said.

“MW has made great strides in coming into compliance with the fire code. However, pile size and fire department access between the piles is still not within compliance in the code,” said Alexis McLellan, public information officer for the San Carlos Park Fire District.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, fire crews were once again dispatched to the business for a smoke investigation. The department contacted the property manager and they sent out staff to address the issues.

WINK News reached out to the owner of MW Horticulture but did not hear back.

The fire district said the next inspection could occur Thursday. The fire began on April 10 and continued causing fire crews to be called to the site on numerous occasions.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.