Tempe Fire Department Capt. Michael Kuehl was preparing to fight a fire in March at a Tempe home when there was an explosion from the attic.
A piece of the roof split off, and he suffered second-degree burns on his face, ear and hand.
Hoarding, the habit of keeping gratuitous amounts of clutter, complicated the fire that injured Kuehl.
It was always, and still is, a hazard, Kuehl said.
Now, the Tempe Fire Department is working to educate the public on the dangers of hoarding.
“That’s the only tool we have,” Tempe Fire Department spokesman Mike Reichling said. “We’re just the recipients. This is a sickness, like alcoholism or any other type of addiction.”
Among other obstacles, hoarding can accelerate a fire, make it difficult for firefighters to reach people in need and cause trouble for firefighters entering the site of a blaze.
“The occupants are the foremost concern,” Reichling said. “We can’t even get them on the floor to do a chest compression. We’re losing precious seconds.”
The Tempe Fire Department alone has dealt with four incidents complicated by hoarding in the past six or seven months, Reichling said, and it’s a growing trend.
“It’s getting more prevalent with the economy the way it is,” Reichling said. “Everyone’s holding on to things in a way they never did before.”
The Tempe Fire Department’s goal is to show that there are tools and resources available to those afflicted by a compulsion to horde.
The Arizona Hoarding Task Force offers information on support groups and personal organization services for those looking for help.
“What we’re doing is providing some resources,” officer and co-founder of the Arizona Hoarding Task Force Anthony Kern said. “A lot of hoarders, we’re finding out, just don’t want to part with their items. What I consider junk isn’t to them.”
Beyond fire hazards, hoarding can cause health problems and hurt others in the community by giving rodents a place to populate, Kern said.
The Arizona Hoarding Task Force can also put people with a hoarding problem in touch with mental health professionals to ensure that the habit doesn’t continue.
“More times than not they probably understand what they’re doing,” Kern said. “They just don’t know how to stop.”
Reach the reporter at clecher@asu.edu
