DAYTON — Last year, the Montgomery County Land Bank tore down more than 200 vacant properties. People living in the county are glad to see them go and hope they prevent fires like the one that happened last night in Dayton.
Vacant house fires, like the one that happened Tuesday night on Xenia Avenue, are a major concern for people living around the county. Especially with the Dayton Fire Department saying that 35 percent of fires battled last year were from vacant properties.
>> RELATED: Emergency demolition ordered, 2 displaced after fire in Dayton
“I don’t like it because you get a lot of homeless people breaking in and they set up shop there,” Bryan Bostick, of Dayton, said. “And before you know it, you got a drug problem, you got crime.”
People like Bostick want to see these properties gone as soon as possible. The Montgomery County Land Bank told News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott that they’re tearing down these properties as fast as they can.
“The application that we had submitted to our Department of Development, which is a countywide application (and) not just for the City of Dayton, although I would say the city of Dayton has the majority of the units, was 270 total units,” Mike Grauwelman, Executive Director of the Montgomery County Land Bank, said.
>> Suspect remains at large after hours-long law enforcement investigation near NCR Country Club
Grauwelman said he wants the vacancies gone as much as everyone else.
“It’s just not a good situation to have, and certainly has a huge negative impact on the value of homes in that neighborhood,” he said.
They have a goal of bringing up property values, boosting community morale, and keeping more people safe.