About two weeks ago, while I was addressing a burning complaint, I discovered an abandoned house that I had previously never noticed. It appeared empty and unkempt…sort of dilapidated. The front and side doors were double..triple locked with screws, boards and padlocks. Walking around the side of house, I could see that the property had placards on it from the codes department: Condemned. When I reached the rear of the house, I was surprised to see the rear door wide open. “Oh wow…it’s unsecured?!?” Concerned about this discovery, I stepped through the door and into the rear of the house. After only walking a few feet, I made a discovery that left me feeling like I had been punched in the stomach of my soul. The floor was missing completely just inside what would be a kitchen or dining room. It was about a 6 ft by 12 ft area. No floor at all. If I had walked in there in the dark, I would have fallen into the basement about 8 ft below.

These are the kinds of buildings that hurt people.

These are the kinds of buildings that kill firefighters.

We need your help to make sure that does not happen.

Unsecured vacant structures are very dangerous. The interior of the structure may have been subject to extreme vandalism or perhaps the structure was abandoned during renovations…leaving a wide variety of unknown interior conditions that are basically traps for the unsuspecting. Holes in walls, floors which could lead to falls. They are very inviting for vagrants, homeless and squatters. It is common that these individuals may try to warm themselves or cook inside by making a fire in the structure. They may also use unsafe practices with electricity. It is not hard to see how this could lead to the entire house catching fire. A lack of proper sealing and boarding can lead to overall degradation of the stability of a structure as it is exposed to the elements: weather, freezing cold temperatures, changes in humidity, rain, water damage, snow. These structures are breeding grounds for vermin, animals and toxic mold. All of these factors lead to accelerated building collapse if firefighters are called to such a building on fire.

Firefighters will never show up at a building fire and not go in because it appears vacant. Every structure is presumed occupied until we search it (while it is on fire)and deem it unoccupied. So, the solution will never be, “Well just don’t go in that place.”

Firefighters work in near zero visibility smoke conditions. Had one of my fellow firefighters been called to that house for a fire…they would have pulled a hose through the backdoor and fallen into the basement. Fireground operations would have to quickly switch from putting the fire out to rescuing the downed firefighter…a race against time, placing the entire platoon at risk as the building continues to burn around them.

Unsecured vacant structures also invite criminal activity. Storage of illegal weapons. Illicit drug use. Dumping of trash and chemicals.

One of my concerns with these structures in our city is that they may also appear tempting for adventurous youth. Wandering into such environments could lead to injury or worse. That doesn’t sit right with me at all. Please take a moment to speak to your children about the dangers of such places and to never explore them. Please.

No matter how many times I walk or drive around searching for dangerous red flags that I can address for the safety of both citizens and firefighters, I will never find them all on my own.

So, I would like to ask for your help with this.

If you are aware of an unsecured and unoccupied building that needs boarded up to prevent access, let us know! If you own a property with hazards such as I have described, let us know! You can email the property address and photos if you are able to mayor@cityofwilliamsport.org. The information will be shared with Mayor Slaughter and other departments in the City of Williamsport so that we are able to address these concerns and prevent unnecessary tragedy.

Stephen Yonkin is the Williamsport Bureau of Fire’s fire marshal.