Framingham, Massachusetts – Two weeks ago, more than one hundred residents of a Framingham, Massachusetts apartment building were left homeless after fire and smoke rendered it uninhabitable. Now, residents are still waiting for a chance to retrieve their possessions from their homes.

The three alarm fire was caused by a plumber’s torch inside a bathroom closet on the second floor of the building, according to the state fire marshal. The building was heavily damaged, with an estimated $3 million repair bill according to Fire Chief Ollie Gadson.

Residents of the former building now find that they have lost their possessions as well as their homes. Not only are tenants unable to retrieve their own items, they’re also unable to claim on insurance: many tenants have found that their insurance adjusters haven’t been allowed to enter the building, meaning their claims can’t be approved.

Unfortunately, it’s a simple matter of public safety: inside the building are several thousand square feet of asbestos-containing materials. There is asbestos in the ceilings, in pipe fittings, and in other areas of the building, according to DEP spokesperson Joe Ferson. “As a matter of public safety, you can’t have people going in that area,” said Ferson.”

Often during the process of fighting a fire, asbestos becomes dispersed throughout a building. In severe cases an entire building may become unsafe even if it contained asbestos in discrete areas. These conditions have in the past prevented residents of other burned buildings from retrieving possessions at all, because removing asbestos from porous items such as furniture and clothing is extremely expensive. In Texas recently, former tenants of the Bellerive Apartments were left homeless and without their possessions for that reason.

The owner of the building, a Texas-based company called JPI Management Co., has been granted an asbestos abatement permit by the Department of Environmental Protection and it’s likely that residents may not be able to return until the asbestos is cleared from the building.

Laura Fritz, a former resident, says that a JPI representative has told her she’ll be arrested if she tries to enter the building.

Thomas N. O’Brien, JPI executive vice president and managing partner says the company is working on getting former residents back inside to claim their possessions, and hopes that people can return as soon as possible. The company has not mentioned whether or not former residents’ possessions have been contaminated with asbestos.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 1:46 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Massachusetts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.