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Newly formed NC task force tackles hoarding dangers

A statewide task force that kicked off in 2015 is dedicated to battling hoarding, which is a problem many know about but few understand.

The North Carolina Hoarding Task Force is made up of fire service professionals from across the state and began meeting after the North Carolina Fire and Life Safety Educators Association's state council brought it up as an issue in 2013. The task force officially launched last summer.

Maria Bostian, a Fire and Life Safety educator and public information officer for the Kannapolis Fire Department helped band the group together. Hoarding is an issue that poses a significant danger in fire responses.

"(Hoarding places) excessive fire load on the home. All those things are more fuel for the fire and it also limits (firefighters') ability to go in and do their job and do their job quickly," Bostian said.

Leaders opted to form the task force at the state level to provide a framework for regions, counties and cities to eventually form councils of their own. Numerous counties in other states such as Virginia have task forces to examine local hoarding issues. Some have even developed specific training exercises for area fire departments to adopt.

Members of the newly formed North Carolina team hope it becomes a vital resource for people who need help.

"Our goal for this task force is just to be a place where we can share information. If a family member needs some information, if a local fire department or a local emergency services group needs information, we want to be a resource tool," Bostian said.

A personal connection

Mike King knew his aunt had a problem. He just didn't know how bad it was.

Whenever he went to her home, she talked to him outside and didn't let him in. He suspected she might be hoarding but didn't realize the magnitude until her death in 2013.

"The day that I was working I heard a call at her address," King said. "A report of a DOA, a dead on arrival."

King, with the Forsyth County Fire Marshal's Office, walked up to the home, in an affluent part of Winston-Salem. An officer met him outside.

"Do you know what you're getting ready to walk into?" the officer said.

"I said, 'I kind of had an idea' and I was nowhere close," King said.

The interior of the house had deteriorated so badly that the basement walls had started caving in. Piles of bagged food, still in plastic bags, lined the kitchen. The refrigerator was packed with rotten things. Crews also found evidence of two small fires in the home.

King said there was an issue with running water at the home that had gone unfixed. She used a buckets in place of a toilet.

"To avoid the shame in regards to her living conditions, she opted not to (get the water fixed) and live like this," King said.

King's aunt died of a heart attack. He believes the horrid conditions inside led to many of her medical issues. It was so bad, hazardous materials crews had to clean it up.

"You see it. You know it. You know what's going on but you don't know what to do about it," King said. "That stays with me a lot, every day."

When Bostian sent an email asking for people interested in joining the task force, King jumped on board immediately.

A psychological matter

Leaders of North Carolina's task force recognize the issue is psychological.

"Hoarding is the persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value. The behavior usually has deleterious effects --emotional, physical, social, financial and even legal -- for a hoarder and family members," according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

Experts said it's important that people who hoard are not shamed because of the disorder.

"(It's) their things or possessions -- not their junk, not their clutter, not their trash," Bostian said.

Neighbors and family members can look out for signs of hoarding and seek help. A person isn't letting you into the home, is blotting out windows or nailing doors shut, can all be signs of hoarding.

"What I learned in our family's situation is, always be available," King said. "Respect them. Ask questions lightly. Don't pry and just let them know first that you love them and you care for them and hopefully they're going to open up and say, 'I need this.

 Resources

VIDEO: Hoarding fire in Pennsylvania, courtesy www.911-photography.com: