LANCASTER, Pa. — After a devastating fire earlier this month, demolition began Thursday on a block of rowhomes in Lancaster.
Firefighters responded to a fire on N. Plum St. on March 13 at around 5:45 p.m. More than 20 emergency crews eventually responded to the scene, which was marked under control by around 8:30 p.m.
According to city officials, the fire damaged 10 rowhomes, eight of them enough that they were in danger of imminent collapse and needed to be demolished immediately.
Two rowhomes at the end of the block had families living in them, with four adults and two children displaced. City officials assisted residents with finding alternate housing. Those homes were not demolished.
The other eight rowhomes, however, had all been condemned in the last six years and were vacant.
City officials condemned one home in 2017 while under construction.
Six more were condemned in August 2019 after their foundations began shifting. City engineers determined the structural issues were caused by a fracture in the bedrock below.
Another home was also condemned in August 2019 because sewage was leaking into its back and side yards.
Neighbors said the abandoned homes had become an eyesore.
“They've been here for years, since I moved in, just vacant, so it looks like the fire was the last straw,” said Darren Hill, who lives near the property. “They probably should have come down sooner.”
Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire but said in a statement that there were reports of trespassers in the days leading up to it. Between March 4 and 7 officials learned a fence around the property had been cut. On March 9 the fence was repaired. On March 13 a contractor was on site to complete the boarding up of the buildings when they saw smoke coming from one of them around 5:45 p.m.
Grass will be planted on the empty lot and the property owners are free to rebuild.