BOARD UP PROCEDURES-VACANTS?

[JERRY SULLIVAN]

WHAT ARE YOUR BOARD UP PROCEDURES FOR VACANTS AND FIRE DAMAGED PROPERTIES?

[par/fire/1627]

We leave it to the property owner to seal the house after a fire. A lot of times we never make contact with the owner until the next day. Short of that we do nothing to post fire buildings or vacant structures. I am also curious what other depts. do. It seems obvious we should have some sort of procedure in plac

[SMOKEY406]

In our city usually there are several fire truck chasers (fire restoration companies) on the scene that the owner can hire if they wish. If the owner doesn't want this service they may have the city DPW do it and then have the cost applied to their taxes. If the owner is on the scene and declines all help we explain that the insurance company will usually pay for the services of a board up crew and the hazards involved with not doing anything (potential lawsuits or violations). We also explain that if they don't take steps to protect the property then the insurance company may not cover any additional losses resulting from not protecting the property from further loss. If we are unable to find an owner or representative we then will order the board up by the DPW.
As for vacants we check all vacant structures every Saturday and then contact the DPW on Monday morning to secure any open structures.

[This message has been edited by SMOKEY406 (edited 04-03-2001).]

[eyecue]

You have to ake some kind of protective action otherwise you may get sued. If the owner isnt present something must be done to protect the public.

[charles]

If it is an active fire scene we will advist the owner to have the building secured if it can be secured at all if they can not do it or do not have the access to someone that can we will turn it over to the town for them to bring a contractor out and secure the building.

As far as vacant or abandoned buildings regardless of use group or type the Fire Prevention Bureau will cite the owner and require them to secure the location if this is not completed then we will have the town do the job and put a tax lean on the property also the Fire Prevention Bureau activly posts all of these locations as unsafe.

[EC116]

In the city I used to live in they have a company that they contact that comes out right after the fire and boards the house/building up.