LIVERMORE FALLS — Selectmen voted unanimously Tuesday to declare a burned house at 100 Main St., the site of a fatal fire last year, to be a dangerous building and a risk to public safety.
The board also voted to accept the word of Code Enforcement Officer Rob Overton about the structural integrity of the building and to expedite the process to seek a court order to demolish the three-story house. Once a court order is received, a qualified contractor will be hired to do the work. The town has a dangerous building account to pay for the demolition and removal of debris.
The action came following a public hearing to determine whether the building was unsafe and dangerous.
Town Manager Stephen Gould said he tried numerous times to contact the owner, Percy Tassie of Rhode Island, and left messages for him. A registered letter to Tassie came back as undeliverable.
Gould said he also contacted all of the victims of the fire and they didn’t know where Tassie is.
Tassie did not attend the hearing.
Overton said he has been watching the building since the fire.
“The building clearly meets the criteria of a dangerous building,” he said.
A significant section of the roof has collapsed, he said.
“My concern is in the near future, the building will collapse,” he said. Debris could land on people walking on the sidewalk, or children playing in the backyard of the neighboring building or in the backyard of the burned building or vehicles going by. He believes the building, which is about 10 feet from a neighboring house and close to the sidewalk in the downtown, could collapse during the winter months or during a thunderstorm and strong winds.
“I think it is imperative that the town find a way to remove this building as soon as possible,” Overton said.
Fire Chief Edward Hastings IV said he met with Tassie after the fire and he indicated that paying for cleanup or removal was an immediate concern.
The Fire Department bought some wood to brace up the ceiling of the first floor to conduct an investigation into the cause. The fire on June 12, 2018, started on the first floor, he said.
State fire investigators could not determine the cause because of the level of destruction.
“I believe the building is completely unsafe,” said Selectman Nixon Ortiz, who is a lieutenant in the Fire Department.
Peter Dyer, 66, perished in the fire.
His son Justin Dyer of Jay, who attended the hearing, said there has been no closure for the family. Every time his children and other family members go by the building, they are reminded of what happened. Any time there is an article in the paper or another trip to the grocery store, it is a constant reminder, he said.
“We would like to see it resolved,” Dyer said. “It has been a long, rocky road.”
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