FARMINGTON – The Board of Selectmen agreed unanimously Tuesday to give a West Farmington property owner 30 days to devise a plan of action for his property and 60 days to complete the work.

The board asked Joel Batzell to stay on track with the State Fire Marshal’s Office and to focus on safety issues such as emergency exits and smoke detectors.

A public hearing was held Tuesday to determine whether the property at 103 Bridge St., known as “Thought Bridge,” was a dangerous building.

A State Fire Marshal inspection in October noted 11 violations at the wood-frame, four-story building built in 1820: no fire separation between living units and storage areas, no metal chimney for the oil furnace, use of extension cords throughout the premises, unsafe stairs and hallways and no provision for a means of escape from sleeping and living areas. Some of the areas have been accessible only by ladder or trap door.

A complaint was filed with fire marshal’s office after a woman visitor fell through a ladder hole.

Batzell said at Tuesday’s hearing that he fully intended to comply and had already engaged a carpenter to address the issues, but he needed the fire marshal to explain exactly what needed to be done and the time to do it because of financial and health issues.

He questioned the change in code standards since 1991 when he went to court and the building was OK’d as a single-family dwelling. He went through hoops to bring the building up to code, he said.

The new code structure does not grandfather anything, he said, adding that he thought the code changes could affect many owners of older homes.

“I have a ceiling that’s 1 inch too low and a hallway that’s 1 inch too narrow,” Batzell said.

The state fire marshal is the authority on the codes, said Farmington Code Enforcement Officer Steve Kaiser, reminding the board of a death resulting from a fall on a stairway that did not meet codes. The owner was held responsible.

Kaiser encouraged Batzell to seek more information from the fire marshal, perhaps with a different inspector.

Batzell felt he was being singled out and harassed, but Selectman Jon Bubier reminded him of the necessity to follow through on a complaint. He encouraged Batzell to develop a plan and to take care of the most critical items one at a time.

Batzell also complained that the local press had blown the issue out of proportion. He wants to hold an open house to let people see for themselves, he said.