Not that well boarded up on Oahu
Fire in an abandoned home on Oahu’s North Shore ended with two squatters receiving treatment for smoke inhalation. Candles were the cause for the Pupukea Road blaze, in a structure that was reportedly boarded up “for some time.”
In Jeannette, Pennsylvania police officers and firefighters called off a search for adults seen entering the abandoned Monsour Medical Center. Two males and a female were reported to have entered through the ambulance bay. Officers were searching the second floor and smelled smoke, prompting the call for the fire department. After some time, and without finding the adults or any signs of fire, the search was called off. Closed in 2006 and condemned in June of 2012 Jeannette police regularly patrol around the building. “I wish they’d knock this down,” [police corporal] Stahl said of the dilapidated facility. “We hate going in there. I don’t know why anybody would want to go in there.” [bold mine] Creepy video below gives you a glimpse of the interior.
In case the glamour and glitz of Detroit’s ‘Burn’ has you thinking the city has very little to burn, you will be surprised to know that there is plenty of fuel standing in Motor City. For almost a year now, Detroit has managed funding for the demolition of vacant, abandoned, burned-out homes. In February we highlighted the fact that approximately $20-million dollars was sitting unused, earmarked for demolition work. This was also on the heels of the controversial (?) ‘Let it burn,’ policy from Fire Commissioner Donald Austin. Now, as 2012 draws to a close, Detroit looks to demolish the popular Brewster-Douglass Housing abandoned housing project, once home to Diana Ross and the Supremes.
The city has been awarded a $6.5-million dollar HUD grant to cover the demolition of 75 apartments, four high-rises and soil remediation. No plans have been made for redevelopment, but one cannot argue against the fact that if you take away the vacant building, the vacant building problem goes away.
Bill Carey is the daily news and blog manager for Elsevier Public Safety (FireRescue Magazine/Firefighter Nation, JEMS and LawOfficer sites.) Bill also manages the FireEMSBlogs.com network and is a former volunteer lieutenant with the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department in Prince George's County, Maryland.
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