[D]ANVILLE — Firefighters will refuse to return to a house in town filled with “human waste, rotting food (and) garbage,” the chief of Danville’s volunteer fire department told Selectboard members Thursday.
“I can’t afford to have multiple guys go in there and get contaminated,” Chief Chris Walsh said, describing a recent call his department had responded to at the home on Walden Hill Road.
Walsh said the call concerned smoke inside the house, but responders had trouble finding the source of the smoke because the home was so cluttered.
“It’s unsafe for our firefighters to go into because of the stuff that’s inside the house,” the chief said. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. We’ve been there before, and it seems like it’s just getting worse.”
Along with human waste, Walsh described seeing “buckets of stuff,” filled trash bags packed together and a tub stacked to the ceiling with objects.
After the recent call, several members of his department told him they wouldn’t go inside again because of the conditions, Walsh said.
The department has been called to the home several times in the past, and if another call comes, only two firefighters will go in while the rest stay outside, Walsh said.
He said he could foresee a full-blown structure fire breaking out at the property.
Selectboard members knew about the home and said its occupant had a court-appointed guardian. But, said Selectboard assistant Audrey DeProspero, the guardian hadn’t yet responded to the town after being contacted about three months ago.
Selectboard Vice Chair Eric Bach suggested meeting with the guardian about the situation, which Walsh agreed to.
“To let them know that this is a problem that has to be resolved,” Bach said. “The next step is, we’re going to have to call the fire marshal.”
Walsh called the situation sad and said he didn’t want to have to resort to calling a fire marshal. He said a fire marshal could condemn the home based on the conditions inside.
“You want to help them out, but then again you don’t want to be the jerk that kicks them out of their house,” he said.
