Change to NH fire code allows proactive approach

By Shira Schoenberg
The Concord Monitor (New Hampshire)

CONCORD, NH — A change to Concord's fire code will allow the fire department to begin marking hazardous and abandoned buildings.

Fire Chief Dan Andrus said firefighters are three times more likely to be injured in a vacant building than in an occupied one. The National Fire Protection Association estimates that fires in abandoned buildings nationwide injure more than 6,000 firefighters a year. In 1999, a fire at an abandoned warehouse in Worcester, Mass., killed six firefighters.

"This is a proactive approach to work with code officers and the police to identify a building before it deteriorates to the point that it poses a danger to rescuers and firefighters," Andrus said.

The markings that will be used in Concord will signify if a building has severe deficiencies and should only be entered for life safety hazards or if a building should be entered only with extreme caution. Andrus said there are likely less than 15 Concord buildings that will be marked.

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