Elwood Fire Rescue: Millville firefighters log vacant buildings

MILLVILLE - Fire Department officials want to know the number of abandoned buildings in the city, a survey officials feel will improve firefighter safety.

The department is working off a municipal government list of abandoned houses to determine which of those homes have no residents, Fire Chief Kurt Hess said.

Department officials also want to determine the extent to which some....Continue Reading

The goal of what Hess admitted is an unscientific review, based on everything from looking for footprints in the snow to drive-bys of buildings, is so firefighters know what to expect when called to those structures. That will help them know when they have to enter buildings in search of people or whether they have to call in help to remove well-boarded-up windows, he said.

"It changes the game plan a little bit," Hess said. "It gives us a head start. That puts a whole new spin on firefighter safety."

The city in recent months has taken a more stringent stand in dealing with abandoned and derelict buildings. That includes changing local laws to give the city more power to demolish those structures.

In many cases, city officials said, the buildings represent public safety and health threats. People use some of the buildings as a base for criminal acts, such as narcotics sales, they said, while some structures are infested with small animals, such as mice and rats.

City officials said the issue of abandoned and derelict buildings has increased as property owners are facing difficult financial situations over the past several years.

Hess said the Fire Department review has thus far turned up about 140 buildings that are vacant, abandoned or derelict. That includes both residential and commercial properties, he said.

Some of the properties determined by the Fire Department to be vacant have been so for some time, he said. Many of them have "for sale" signs.

"Our main focus is on the ones that are boarded up and a little run down," Hess said.

In some cases, determining whether a home listed by the city is vacant can be tricky, he said.

Some of the information used by the city to determine whether a home is vacant is based on late payment of water and sewer bills, Hess said. Being behind in those payments does not necessarily mean that a building is vacant, he said.

Millville firefighters log vacant buildings

Monday, February 03 2014 @ 11:22 am EST