Officials keep eyes on many Lynn firetraps

LYNN – Foreclosure orders tripled in Lynn between 2006 and 2007 prompting fire inspectors to keep a wary eye on a growing number of vacant buildings.Neighbors told firefighters that 101 Grant St. had been vacant for about six months before the house caught fire Dec. 23. Fire Lt. David Legere said the fire appeared to have been started by an electrical malfunction in a wall.”The report I had was it was in foreclosure,” said Acting Fire Chief James Carritte.Legere said a potentially dangerous combination of vandalism and operable utilities, including gas service that had yet to be shut off prompted inspectors this week to order 24 Linden St. boarded up.”All the interior doors were kicked in and the fixtures pulled out,” Legere said.Deutsche Bank National Trust Company foreclosed on 24 Linden last January. The bank and other mortgage holders initiated legal proceedings to take possession of 281 other local properties in 2007 after property owners defaulted on their mortgages.By contrast, mortgage companies initiated 94 foreclosure proceedings in 2006.Carritte said fire department inspectors check on vacant buildings and Revere inspectors monitor the conditions of 45 local buildings listed last year as vacant.Revere City Councilor at Large John Correggio served on the Fire Department for over 30 years and said potentially deteriorating conditions in vacant buildings pose a threat to neighbors and firefighters.”It is extremely important to keep an eye on abandoned buildings these days, especially ones that have become neglected and really deteriorated,” Correggio said.He said 90 percent of the injuries sustained by firefighters occur in vacant buildings where the weight of water poured on a fire often buckles deteriorating walls, floors and roofs.Firefighters in Lynn and Lawrence are not linking foreclosure vacancies to two major fires in their communities this month. The state Fire Marshal labeled a fire that destroyed 10 buildings in Lawrence Monday suspicious.Lynn inspectors labeled the fire that gutted the Nissen Bread building on Brookline Street suspicious following a Jan. 14 fire. They received reports of vagrants and vandals targeting the long-vacant building.Owner David Potter is preparing to demolish the building in preparation for constructing condominiums. Legere said heavy machinery brought to the building site for the demolition will be used to clear away debris so that inspectors can try and determine the cause of the fire before giving permission for the demolition to proceed.”We have it pinned down to a general area. If we can get to the floor we will have a lot better idea,” he said.