BANGOR, Maine — Crews on Monday began to demolish an uninhabitable property near the Shaw’s supermarket on the west side of Bangor.
The demolition of the burned-out house at 44 Patten St. was ordered by the City Council in June.
Tanya Emery, Community and Economic Development Director for the city, said at the site Monday afternoon it could take a couple of days for workers to raze the structure.
The City Council voted on June 22 to declare the property dangerous under state law and order its demolition over the objections of the property’s apparent owner.
“It’s my opinion that the building at 44 Patten St. in Bangor is a dangerous building, as it’s unsafe, unstable, structurally unsound, a fire hazard, unsuitable for property occupancy as a residence and is dangerous,” Code Enforcement Officer Jeremy Martin told the council before the vote.
Charlton Butler Jr., husband of the property’s registered owner, Twila Wolf, objected to the demolition order at the June meeting. The owner had 30 days to appeal the city’s decision. No appeal was filed.
The structure was gutted by a fire in July 2013.
Martin said the city initially placarded the building as unsafe for human habitation in January 2013 after carbon monoxide poisoning from a homemade coal stove sickened three individuals.
“It was determined that the operation of the coal stove constituted the operation of dangerous equipment and was an imminent fire hazard,” Martin said at the time.
Martin said the city sent two letters in February and June 2013 reminding the owners of what needed to be done to fix the property. In a memorandum, city officials said they gave all interested parties, including several lenders, 120 days to repair the structure.
Efforts to contact Butler and Wolf Monday were unsuccessful.
BDN writer Evan Belanger contributed to this report.
