54. Abandoned and Blighted House Fire Harms Whole Community

Severely fire damaged house at 224 Malleable Street, Sharon, PA (4 R 43)

On June 6, 2018 a fire at 224 Malleable Street (4 R 43) caused such damage that the house will be demolished. The property was not insured. The cost of demolition will be born by the City of Sharon. 

The house was abandoned and blighted.

As the property owner has other properties. Pennsylvania law allows for the other properties to have liens attached upon them by the City in order to be reimbursed for the cost. While the tool exists, whether the costs are recovered will remain an open question into the future. 

If an ordinance existed requiring comprehensive property insurance of a landlord its absence could be a basis not to make a building code inspection for an owners other properties. 

Nearby owner occupants of houses were disturbed in their right to an orderly life by the fire as their street was barricaded by fire equipment and the noise of fire fighting. Their homes probably have smoke damage. They might have developed transitory or permanent respiratory problems. They may  have lost the use of their home due evacuation during fire fighting. They may be dealing with fear and anxiety that otherwise would not have happened to them. 

This is an example of how abandoned and blighted property injures a community as a whole as well as the immediate neighborhood.

Front porch of fire gutted house at 224 Malleable St, Sharon, PA