2:15 PM: Big SFD response for what’s described as a fire in a vacant building in the 9400 block of 18th SW. Many of the responding units have been dismissed but five are still on the call; we’re on our way there to find out more.
2:23 PM: “Small exterior fire,” says SFD.
2:38 PM: They believe the fire started with someone cooking at this abandoned house (photo added above), but nobody was there when firefighters arrived; no injuries reported.
“Someone cooking in an abandoned house” means criminal trespassing, right? Especially if you almost burn it down?
If the property owner considered it trespassing, yes. Police need property owners to tell them whether they want somebody “trespassed.” Some owners of abandoned property just don’t care. We’ve written about this many times before. I have not yet looked into the background of this particular property, whether it has city citations etc, – TR
… and checking files, there’s both a demolition permit and construction permit filing for the logged address (townhouses to be built). Still making their way through the city permit system. Also at least one neighbor complaint.
I am presenting the facts. You asked if it’s criminal trespassing, and I explained why it’s not necessarily. There’s no open place to check whether police have consent to “trespass” anyone they’ve found on this particular site. There’ve been five trespass calls to that block this year, though:
https://twitter.com/search?q=94xx%2018%20av%20sw%20trespass&src=typed_query&f=live
So, if there are people in an abandoned house and neighbors call the police to report it, then police can’t do anything unless the property owner calls to report it? If so, then I guess property owners of such places should make sure their neighbors have their contact information. Usually, neighbors care because if a fire starts in that house, then their neighboring homes are in danger too..The notion of every “unoccupied” house being considered “abandoned” is incorrect. There is a difference between a property being unoccupied versus abandoned. As WSB noted, the property is working its way through the permit system, so it’s not “abandoned”!.Just as how snowbirds that leave their home unoccupied are not abandoning it.
Maybe the ones who had started the fire wouldve been who called in a fire emergency before it got out of hand and spread to neighboring homes if they were not worried about catching a criminal charge by doing so…Doesnt sound like they were trying to cause trouble, they just needed a place to exist other then a sidewalk
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