Using local Fire Department to burn down a dilapidated property

[Vamsee Lella]

Hi BP - I own a piece of land (about 0.75 acres) on which sits a dilapidated house. The city's Planning, Zoning and Community Development Department had sent me a notice to take down the house. I spoke with the code enforcement officer and was able to get an extension to satisfy the request. I have been getting bids from Demolition Contractors in the area. In the interim, I reached out to the local fire department to see if they would be interested using this property for their fire/burn training. The fire captain did let me know that, they would be able to use it for the fire training and burn the structure to the ground and that I would need to get a burning permit from the County health department first. I have submitted the request for the Burning Permit from a few days ago and awaiting to hear back from the county. I was told by the Fire Captain that I would be responsible for everything...from clearing out the shrubs/creepers around the perimeter of the house, to ensuring that there is no asbestos/hazardous material, cleanup post the burn training and such.

If you or somebody you know has been through a similar situation, I would appreciate sharing your experience and all the things you had to do, to ensure a smooth process. I just want to make sure, I leave no stone unturned and cover all bases. Thanks in advance !

[Vamsee Lella]

Thanks for the feedback Ed !! I am talking to demolition contractors as well at this time and one came back with an estimate of $10K...still waiting on other bids.... Fortunately, the Fire Captain was very helpful. He even requested that his name, dept and contact # be included on the Burn Permit application, so the Health Dept could contact him, should they have a question.