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>> In Fairfax County, there are approximately 4,000 people
living in hoarded conditions.
In these homes where free space is limited, occupants are at a
high risk for injury or death in the event of a fire. It
is a serious, dangerous condition where occupants are
often unaware of the danger in which they have placed
themselves, their pets and their loved ones. I am
an investigator and Fire Marshal with Fairfax County as
well as a firefighter EMT.
>> Hoarding conditions in homes create extremely dangerous
conditions for both the occupants as well as first
responders, at an emergency scene.
The main problem is obstructed egress. Meaning the pathways,
into, throughout and getting out of a structure are blocked
and longer provide escape routes. In
Emergency Medical Situations, patients that are non
ambulatory or rendered unconscious, cannot be quickly
moved on a cot and or hooked up to necessary medical equipment.
In severe cases, such as cardiac arrest cause and stroke
responses, it is not uncommon to have 6 to 8 first responders
around the patient performing different roles.
Hoarded rooms do not provide adequate space to successfully
treat the patient. In event of a fire, excess storage can make
the fire scene extremely dangerous.
Combustibles are a fire fuel load, meaning these items can
ignite and cause a fire to grow exponentially.
When combustible storage is located next to heated
appliances, such as furnaces and water heaters,
>> they can ignite easily. Further,
blocked doors may not be easily breached in order to gain
access to the structure. This delays the emergency
response time.
Excess storage can block access to utilities, such as the
electrical panel, which is needed to shut off power to the
structure to avoid electrical hazards during emergencies.
In most hoarded homes, there are typically no working smoke
alarms in the home.
>> Hoarded homes are serious danger to the homeowners as
well as first responders
>> Hoarding is more than just having too many things, it is
an extreme accumulation of things that creates a dangerous
living situation.
As possessions stack up and free space around the house
disappears,
>> the functionality of the home becomes severely
restricted.
The floors become blocked,
>> the stairways narrow and it becomes difficult to move
freely. Over time and without intervention, portions of a
home can become completely inaccessible.
Without being able to clean, sanitation issues lead to the
loss of health and well-being of occupants.
Many people with hoarding issues eventually stop inviting
friends and family over, which can trigger stress, depression
and isolation for individuals living in these circumstances.
>> I work for Department of Code Compliance, we are the
agency that takes Hoarding complaints from the community.
Our investigations have 3 main focal points. Our first focal
point is to eliminate life safety issues.
This means to restore egress, we need to reduce or relocate
>> personal possessions that are blocking windows, doorways
or walkways or your way out in case of a fire. The second
would be to restore utilities, we want to make sure that the
heat, electricity and water are on for sanitation purposes.
The last would be to ensure the installation of working smoke
detectors in the home.
Our second focal point is with structural stability, stacks of
possessions are very heavy, especially when they
>> are stacked from the floor to ceiling. This can cause a
problem when the extreme weight can exceed design capacity.
This can cause sagging, bowing, shear crack formation, wall
movement and even broken footing. The problem is that
this can lead to structural system failure and possible
collapse.
>> Owners may need to apply for a building permit in order to
make these repairs. Our third focal point is improving
quality of life.
We want to make sure that we have working facilities for
personal hygiene, Mainly one working toilet, one working
shower and one working sink.
Second, would be to improve sanitation by reducing animal
feces, improving poor air circulation
>> and eliminating excess garbage. Our end result then,
would be to improve the functionality of the living
space.
>> From the exterior, hoarded structures may appear free of
debris, but once inside could pose a serious threat to the
occupants. However, most homes with critical hoarding issues
have many visible indicators of a problem inside. This includes
cars parked in the driveway filled with trash.
Yards, carports decks and lawns overflowing with excessive
storage.
Curtains crushed against the glass from personal possessions
pressing against the windows and doors.
Due to excessive storage, occupants can only open the
front door wide enough to speak when answering the door.
Excessive numbers of possessions or trash piled to
the ceiling throughout the home.
Narrow paths or walkways throughout the home.
Limited or no floor visibility
To make a complaint about a hoarded structure, please
contact Code Compliance by phone or through the online
complaint portal.
>> Animal Protection Police generally receives complaints
from citizens in the community, neighbors, it could be from
concerned family members or other County entities such as
the Department of Code Compliance, the Health
Department or the Fire Department that comes into
contact with hoarding cases that involve animals.
Animal hoarding can affect the animals in various ways,
because they're generally not spayed or neutered, there's
inbreeding involved which can cause genetic issues. We
generally see animals that have upper respiratory infections
that are highly contagious. There is also issues with
starvation and because of the overcrowding, they're all
competing for the same food. We have animals in large
hoarding cases, they are found in poor condition. If we catch
it in time, we can certainly help the citizen with reducing
the numbers of animals that they have, providing the
information that they need, in regards to veterinary care and
preventative care, we can also assist them with pointing them
in the direction for Adult Protective Services if needed
to address any mental health issues as well.
>> Hoarding is a multifaceted issue, which often requires
government intervention.
in 1998, Fairfax County created the first Hoarding Task Force
in the nation to mobilize agencies and departments to
help citizens suffering from hoarded conditions.
>> After the Department of Code Compliance was created in 2010,
most of the enforcement action was housed in this agency.
At that time, the task force was downgraded to a committee.
Today the Hoarding Committee meets quarterly to network more
than 13 agencies and surrounding jurisdictions for
educational and outreach opportunities.
>> If you or someone you know is overwhelmed by hoarded
conditions, you can access Fairfax County Resources by
visiting our website. By reaching out, you could save a
life.
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