Jeffrey Avery & Associates specialists for house clearance in London talk about compulsive hoarding……..
Fire is a real danger when it comes to hoarding cases, and it is something that every firefighter fears encountering. There are many problems caused by hoarding, such as vermin, mould and other health and safety issues. But when a fire strikes in a hoarding property, the results can be disastrous.
A fire recently caught hold in a property in Cleveland, as reported by the Fox8 website. However, when firefighters arrived on the scene to find that the fire was quickly spreading, they discovered that the property belonged to a compulsive hoarder.
Larry Gray, the public information officer for the firefighters, was quoted on Fox8 as saying that they encountered debris and items in every room, stacked up in piles, and as a result entry to the building became very difficult.
The fire occurred on the second floor of a property on West 83rd Street, and caught alight in the afternoon. At first the firefighters thought that someone was inside the building, and they entered in through the back.
However, the fire caught hold too quickly and the team could not stay inside the building, so they had to leave. Luckily, they were informed that the occupant was out shopping at the time so it did not turn into a tragic incident.
Apparently the smoke detectors were not working in the building, although it as yet remains unknown why it caught hold in the first place.
The problems caused by hoarding when a fire catches alight are that it gets hotter quicker, visibility is diminished quicker, and it becomes much more difficult to get around, which is more dangerous for the occupants and the firefighters.
For confidential advice call Jeffrey Avery on 0800 567 7769