Fire in Old, Abandoned Building Highlights Problem with Transients and Out-of-Town, Absentee Property Owner

SAN ANGELO, TX — San Angelo firefighters fought a fire at a vacant building at 611 W. 15^th St. Wednesday morning. The 9-1-1 call came in at 10:25 a.m.

According to City Fire Inspector Joanna Jackson, the building was abandoned with an absentee, out-of-town property owner. “We’ve been trying to work with the owner to board up the building to keep homeless people out of there,” she said.

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Firefighters were still knocking down pockets of flames inside the structure at 10:50 a.m., 25 minutes later.

Jackson said the building is listed on the City’s ‘dangerous buildings list’ but there are no orders for the owner or City to tear down the structure.

Because of the reported frequency of transients living inside the abandoned building, when firefighters arrived, a concern that there was a fatality or injured inside the structure was mentioned over the radio. According to the briefing, however, no one was injured.