KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Three KCK firefighters were hurt during a fire at a houseon the city's demolition list.
The demolition program said it has about 200 buildings on its list.
Three KCK firefighters hurt in a fire at a home set to be demolished. One of 200 buildings backlogged on that list. @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/xnzkCIHslV
— Belinda Post (@Belinda_Post) January 29, 2018
"Mostly every other neighborhood you go to, every other street, it's a pretty abandoned house," said construction worker Jessy Acosta.
Acosta has helped build and rebuild homes for about four years and said problems can happen when properties sit vacant or abandoned too long.
"Walls falling in, cracked foundation. That's when you need to start over," said Acosta.
The home where Sunday morning's fire happened on North 7th Street was dealing with similar issues. It showed cracked cement and it had boarded up windows.
It was placed on the city's demolition list because it did not meet building code and had structural problems. The owner also had an issue paying taxes since 2006.
Officials in the Demolition Department said abandoned homes can be dangerous if they are open. Children or the homeless can get inside and the conditions of the structure may be unknown.
Fire marshal John Droppelmann said there was an earlier fire at the home in 2005. He said the home did not have electricity and squatters have used it in the past.
Acosta said it is a case by case basis on which would make more sense for the city and that safety should be the top priority.
"A lot of them you can fix up. A lot of them you would want to knock down and start over," said Acosta.
In 2017 the city had nearly $1 million to knock down any dangerous buildings.
In 2018 that number nearly doubles to $1.8 million. It will use the extra money to contract with more crews.
The additional money is coming from the Star Bonds used at the Legends, which was paid off last year.
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