Bemidji Fire Chief Shows Dangers of Unregistered Shelter Before Demolition

Three abandoned buildings will soon be demolished for Bemidji’s Rail Corridor project. One of those buildings in particular—what is sometimes called “The Mansion”—has been the source of some controversy, as many officials have deemed it a safety hazard while some homeless people in the area use the building as an unregistered shelter.

After many years of responding to fire calls to that particular building, Bemidji Fire Chief Justin Sherwood brought his concern to other city officials, stating the building needed to be condemned and demolished as it was no longer a safe building. After hearing comments from concerned community members about the demolition of this building, Sherwood invited Lakeland News to tour the building in question to show the dangers inside.

Only a few steps into the building, there’s broken glass on the floor and piles of garbage in the corners of nearly every room, which Sherwood believes is not just a fire hazard but a health concern as well.

“You can just even see it in the beam of my [flashlight], the products in the air,” he said during the tour, which happened on October 30. “This is not a safe place with mold, mildew, water.”

What also concerns Sherwood is the condition of the building itself, especially as his department continues to receive calls of fires breaking out inside.

“Wood posts that are supporting the stories above, in addition to the concrete [around the posts] can become compromised,” he explained. “[And there are] these [electrical] chases, these support beams that have been compromised, so while the outside itself may not be combustible, if we get up inside these chases, fires can run, and it can really have an impact on the structural stability.”

And in many of those rooms filled with broken glass, garbage, and used syringes, there usually sit a few mattresses for those who are in desperate need of shelter.

“When we have people sleeping in here, even though there’s no power and utility, we take take excessive actions to try to stay warm,” added Sherwood. “And things like this start fires, no notification, and it really concerns me that someone’s going to get hurt.”

Those concerns became more apparent stepping into the pitch-black basement. Without Sherwood’s flashlight, we wouldn’t have been able to see the glass and fallen debris scattered all over the floor, nor the signs of collapse. Sherwood showed us a cork floor that was exposed.

“I imagine [it] was for some insulation, maybe that’s what we were walking on upstairs, followed by a concrete base, which is here [pulled down and sitting on the floor].”

As we wrapped up the tour and stepped out of the building, Sherwood reflected on what we saw and discussed the dangers his fire crews face when answering emergency calls to this building.

“When I look at this, I look at a severely damaged building that has the potential to be catastrophic, not only for our community members but for firefighters, law enforcement officers, and EMS personnel,” Sherwood stated. “This is a firefighter’s nightmare.”

Sherwood believes this building is in no condition for anyone to use it as a temporary residence. Sherwood acknowledged the lack of housing and shelters in the area  and hopes to be part of the solution, which for him is the demolition of this building.

“People are living here, as they feel as they have no other option, and I hope to be part of that solution,” he said, “not only as your fire chief and emergency manager, but as a city employee because we are working together with state and county resources to try to find a better solution, and that’s what we need to do.”

Before demolition is set to take place, Lakeland News will have a story on the history of those buildings and how one of them played a major role during the formative years of the city of Bemidji.