Structures Marked That Pose a Threat to Pa. Firefighters

MAHANOY CITY, Pa. -- Flames, smoke and water are enough.

To avoid adding worries to borough firefighters as they combat their perennial enemy, officials are posting warning sings on dilapidated, abandoned structures to advise emergency crews of potential dangers that await them and that are not necessarily caused by fire.

On Friday, fire Chief Randy Kalce and William F. Killian III, code enforcement officer, posted laminated signs on 40 unoccupied homes and they expect to do so on many more in the near future.

"This is the first wave," Killian said as he and Kalce posted a property at 416 W. Centre St.

From the front, the home in the middle of a block seems to pose no danger to anyone. However, the back tells a different story, where a caving roof appears ready to come crashing down. Kalce said holes in the floor throughout the building are hidden threats to firefighters.

"If we send someone in here in the middle of the night there is a chance of them being seriously injured or killed," he said.

The borough has sent registered letters to the owners of ramshackle buildings in the borough. However, in most cases, officials have been unable to contact them. With limited funds for condemnation proceedings and demolition, the borough is forced to let decaying buildings sit -- and wait.

Officials do not have an exact count of dilapidated properties in the bough -- it could be about 100.

Killian and Kalce brought the concern about firefighter safety to the attention of the borough council at its November meeting.

"It's not a secret that we do have some unsafe buildings in the community," Kalce told the council. "It may be something that if a firefighter goes into a building in a smoke-filled condition, he could wind up seriously hurt or killed. The building may look good from the outside, but if a stairway is missing or there is a hole in the roof, we could get somebody killed."

Kalce said the borough is doing what it can with the limited funding to go after dilapidated buildings and raze them. In the meantime, however, he, Killian and others believe there was a need for a plan to make sure all firefighters go home safety.

The brightly colored and highly visible laminated placards are coded, allowing firefighters to realize the dangers at quick glance.

The signs identify the problems that will be encountered in the specific building including R/O for roof opening, H/F for holes in the floor and S/M for stairway missing.

In addition to posting the properties with the signs, Kalce said the borough is working with the Schuylkill County Communications Center to have the properties tagged in its system so the firefighters will be notified if a building is considered an unsafe structure.

"This is all to improve firefighter safety," said Kalce. "We want to make sure that when a volunteer firefighter responds to a fire that they return safe to their families."

Borough officials are urging residents to call borough hall if they see a missing placard.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service