Crackdown on Squatters To Stop Fires in Abandoned Houses
The Portsmouth Fire Department teamed up with Portsmouth Police and the State Fire Marshal to crack down on people living in unsecured abandoned houses around the city.
According to Fire Chief Robert Long, this was necessary because of a rise in fires inside vacant homes.
The crackdown started just before 6:30 pm as officers began a search of homes on 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 10th Streets.
In the 1500 block of 5th Street, they discovered boards had been pulled off multiple houses, and neighbors told them squatters fled the property when police rolled up.
On 6th Street, they checked 17 abandoned properties and found several of them were not secured. They boarded up the ones they could take care of, but several homes were too dangerous to enter.
When they moved on to 7th Street, officers boarded up multiple homes and discovered two people inside a condemned house. Police took James Thomas into custody on an open warrant for probation violation. Police also charged him with criminal trespass and criminal endangering. This was his 32nd trip to the Scioto County Jail. For the past several years, Thomas has been arrested an average of 4 times a year.
If you have any information about arson fires, contact the State Fire Marshal’s Office at 1—800-589-2728. You could be eligible for a $5000 reward.