LIGONIER, Indiana (Indiana's NewsCenter)--Recent fires in some downtown historic districts around the state have local fire departments stepping up inspections of historic buildings.
Firefighters in Ligonier were out Wednesday morning inspecting older downtown buildings for fire hazards. Many historic buildings were built before electricity was in use and were retrofitted later on. That could mean some electrical systems are inadequate, even dangerous.
“We want to make it the safest for the tenants in the building,” says Ligonier Fire Department captain Shawn Cox. “If there’s apartments in there we want to make it safe for them. But also we want to make it safe for our guys when we’re going in if there is a fire that we can get in and out safely and go home.”
Cox says historic buildings are often one hundred years old or older and their timbers are very dry. Downtown buildings also often butt up against each other, even share common walls. Cox says state regulations mandate safety inspections but he wants his department to perform even tougher inspections to add a layer of safety.
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