Condemned homes make big eyesore for community

LOGANSPORT, Ind. (WLFI) - Nearly 80 properties that once use to be livable places to call home are now eyesores and a hazard to the entire community.

NewsChannel 18 went inside these structures that firefighters are keeping a close eye on.

Taking a walk through one of the homes, you might think you're walking through a pile of rubble after a tornado.

“Look at this,” said Logansport Assistant Fire Chief Steve Williams. “It looks like someone just came in and trashed the place."

Think again.

In our photo gallery , you can get a glimpse of just a couple of nearly 80 abandoned homes in Logansport.

We found everything from dirty dishes and filth on kitchen counters, to old, raggedy clothes left on the floor.

In one particular home, couches are still arranged in the living room. But if you take a few steps to the right of the living room. you'll find an old bath tub and toilet in what used to be a place where people went to get clean – and now it’s full of scum, among other things.

"Some of them have had work orders placed on them where they give the owner a chance to re-build on what needs to be rebuilt,” Williams said. “A lot of times we get no response."

In some of these homes, exposed wires even hang from the ceilings, and fire fighters say that's one of their biggest concerns.

"I am not going to send someone into a condemned structure that you know eventually is going to be torn down to just put a fire out,” Williams said. “My No. 1 priority is getting all my guys home the next morning."

Williams also says these condemned homes are just open doors to even more problems.

"There is a possibility that these types of homes could have meth labs,” Williams said. “Our main concern from the fire department and from the city is getting these properties closed up and boarded up so that kids can't gain access."

But for now, these homes will stay as eye sores to the community, unless the homeowners step up, and tear these structures down.

Williams says if you see or hear anything suspicious near one of these homes, contact police.