What does it take to tackle abandoned home fires?

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Wichita Fire Department (WFD) crews tackled another abandoned house fire early Friday morning on South Broadway. It wasn’t their first time at that location.

“This is our third fire that we had since October,” said Jose Ocadiz, WFD Battalion Chief.

The abandoned home turned into a safety hazard.

“Our concerns are, you know, the structural stability of it and other hazards on the exterior of the building itself,” he said.

Ocadiz says it seems like fires in abandoned buildings are becoming more common. However, there is not much the fire department can do. Their main concern is just making sure no one is hurt.

The South Broadway home was boarded up by the City of Wichita in September. It was added to their demolition list after it caught fire a second time in January.

After Friday’s fire, the City expedited that process and had it knocked down later that afternoon.

WFD believes the fire started from someone trying to stay warm.

Wichita City Councilman Mike Hoheisel says these abandoned homes are a concern.

“We look at vagrants who break into the houses, we look at children who break into the houses as well play around, it’s very dangerous,” Hoheisel said. “It’s always in the back of my head that somebody could end up getting seriously injured.”

Hoheisel says it’s a tough issue to tackle with a fine line between property rights and public safety.

“That’s something we have to be mindful of. We don’t want to take people’s homes around them. We don’t want to condemn them. We don’t want to tear them down, but it’s coming up more often nowadays that that’s what’s required to preserve public safety,” he said.

Hoheisel says there is a group that is working to purchase abandoned buildings along the south broadway corridor — like the one demolished Friday — and upkeep them.

The City of Wichita works to board up abandoned structures, but they need your help to report any buildings that might be a concern.