Maine FD Being Cautious About Hazardous Buildings

LEWISTON, Maine -- Firefighters will be more cautious about responding to fire and emergency calls at 54 abandoned houses and apartments around the downtown, waiting to go inside until fires are mostly extinguished.

The buildings are all on the list of vacant and abandoned residential structures the city is hoping to demolish over the next year, according to Fire Chief Paul LeClair.

"With vacant buildings like this, things inside can change day to day," LeClair said. "With nobody inside keeping an eye on conditions, we don't necessarily know what to expect. Many of these buildings can have holes develop in the floors, or stairs that have collapsed. Some are used as dumps and filled with debris, and that adds to the fire load."

LeClair said his firefighters have started attaching placards to the 54 structures to identify them as particularly unsafe. LeClair released that list to the Sun Journal on Monday.

Firefighters will not enter those buildings to fight fires until a captain assumes command of the scene, interior and exterior lighting is confirmed, doors and windows have been opened and the main body of the fire has been extinguished.

The city has a "two in, two out" rule for most other burning structures -- two firefighters must be on hand and outside of the fire scene for every two that are inside.

"But there is a big difference between a structure that is cared for and supervised and one that is not, and we don't want to risk one of our firefighters getting hurt," LeClair said. "This is a way to communicate a building's state, for neighbors and our firefighters, so there is no question about safety."

LeClair said the city is willing to work with owners that are hoping to fix their buildings.

"If someone contacts us and tells us they're working on it, that's fine," LeClair said. "We're mostly concerned about the buildings where we haven't heard from anyone."

The city has been moving to demolish abandoned and failing buildings in recent weeks. So far, councilors have voted to demolish four buildings on the list: 305 Bates St., 10 College, St., 81 Lincoln St. and 67 Oak St.

Copyright 2012 - Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine

McClatchy-Tribune News Service