By Dave Wedge and Jessica Heslam
The Boston Herald
BOSTON — Crumbling, abandoned houses, gas stations, store fronts and even a vacant police station have sat for years as potentially deadly firetraps, prompting city officials to call for a review of dozens of dangerous properties that threaten the lives of Hub jakes.
There are 147 potential death traps across Boston, including seven that have been flagged by the fire department for more than 10 years and 40 for more than four years, a Herald review found.
“If it’s just going to sit there as a blight and a potential hazard, then we should see if we need to develop new ordinances as to how long properties can sit dormant like that,” said City Councilor Steve Murphy, head of the council’s public safety committee. “We’ll see what we can do to tighten up our regulations so that no one’s hurt at these types of properties.”
The Herald review comes on the heels of a devastating weekend blaze in Roxbury that destroyed a warehouse complex, including a building that was on the fire department’s danger list. Mindful of the tragic 1999 Worcester warehouse blaze that killed six firefighters, the Boston Fire Department keeps a database of “posted” properties to warn jakes of possible deadly hazards.
“Obviously I’m concerned,” Firefighters Union Local 718 president Ed Kelly said. “I don’t want to see any of my guys get hurt.”
Other properties that have languished for years on the BFD’s list of “posted” trouble spots include:
- 524 Warren St. in Roxbury, a weed-strewn abandoned gas station;
- 24 Drydock St. in South Boston, a boarded-up commercial warehouse;
- 1767 Washington St., South End, a boarded-up, graffiti-covered blight at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue; and
- 420 West Broadway, South Boston, an abandoned eyesore smack in the middle of a bustling strip.
Another spot flagged by the BFD as dangerous is 277 D St., South Boston, a city-owned former police station. Located across the street from a working fire house, the abandoned, two-story building is rife with broken windows and is one of dozens marked with a red “X,” which means the fire department considers it unsafe.
Dot Joyce, a spokeswoman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino, said the property was flagged because a contractor was removing asbestos as part of a federal cleanup. The city is trying to sell the building.
In Roxbury, neighbor Richard Bennett fears a decrepit three-family house at 51 Vale St. is going to catch fire or collapse.
“Every day I just hope that if it does happen, none of us are home,” said Bennett, who lives next door to the vacant eyesore with his wife and 10-year-old son.
A 43-year-old Northeastern University worker, Bennett doesn’t let his son play outside and called the house “a serious fire hazard.” The property, which is infested with stray animals and looks unstable, has been on the BFD’s danger list since 2005, records show.
“There were squatters in there. There’s no power. There’s no water. There’s no telling what could happen,” Bennett said. “If this ever caught on fire, my home would be done.”
Boston fire Chief Ronald Keating said properties that have been on the list for years are usually tied up in court or abandoned.
Kelly said the posting system “works,” as evidenced by the absence of injuries at the weekend Roxbury inferno. “The chief the other night did an excellent job. His decision saved lives,” he said.
Joyce said the mayor realizes there are “some problem properties” and “is always looking at different properties to make sure they’re not blights.”
Copyright 2010 Boston Herald Inc.