Valet trash companies must provide fire resistant cans by July

Some apartment complexes have already started giving out fire-resistant bins. The code requires the trash cans have a tight-fitting or self-closing lid and that renters place their trash outside no more than five hours before the scheduled pick-up.

Jason Shepherd, Durham County’s fire marshal, said he supports the new rules requiring valet trash services – like Trash Butler and Valet Living – to supply residents with fire-resistant containers. He thinks they will make the indoor hallways and outdoor breezeways of apartments safer.

He also said loose boxes and bulk items stored in public areas make them unsafe, and can block those ares that often serve as an emergency exit route. ​

“I am not against the service, per se, I am against the misuse of the service,” Shepherd said.

Report: Baby girl dies in Cary apartment fire while clinging to her mother's chest

A report from the Cary Fire Department shows a baby girl and her mother got trapped inside their apartment after cardboard and other trash caught on fire outside the front door.

Nine-month-old Marlee Santiago died.

A spokesperson for Aurella Cary Apartments confirmed in an e-mail to WRAL News that the complex utilizes a valet trash service; however, fire investigators were never able to determine how the fire started. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

In a March meeting, members of the North Carolina Building Code Council received objections from some valet trash companies that cited the high cost of the trash cans and the struggle to get them.

"There's one company right now in the United States that makes the cans, and it's extremely expensive for us," said Matt Gladden, CEO of Community Concierge.

Right now, apartment complexes are not required to install sprinkler systems breezeway areas. That is something the Building Code Council hopes to change by 2024.