MUSKOGEE, Okla. — The Muskogee Fire Department has sounded the alarm about a recent uptick in building fires.
2 News Oklahoma’s Douglas Braff went to Muskogee to learn more about these fires and listened to neighbors’ concerns.
Assistant Fire Marshal Mike Haley told us they typically see about nine structure fires during a three-month period. However, these past three months, they responded to 40 — a nearly 350% increase.
He said most of these are caused by vagrants who seek shelter and warmth in vacant spaces, especially during the colder months.
2 News spoke with some people living near some of these buildings burnt down by squatters.
“All the houses around us are burning up,” one man told us.
They said the number of vacant buildings and homeless roaming the streets keeps growing.
“The houses are pretty much all gone. I mean, the community's all gone,” said one longtime resident, who declined to show his face on camera. “It seems like the homeless population has made its way towards here.”
“I don't know where else it [the homeless population] was in the city before,” he added. “But I mean, it's definitely here now in this part.”
When asked if the rise in vacant building fires concerns her, 81-year-old Ruth McConnell said, “Yes, it do [sic] because I live alone."
For her, it’s scary seeing nearby buildings burn up, saying, “You could wake up in the morning or anytime” and “you see a fire.”
“I just wish we could get it stopped and have people … come through here, maybe surveillance or something,” she told us.
“I have a camera on my house that I could see quite a bit around and stuff like that,” she added. “But a lot of people don't have it.”
The man we spoke with told us he has invested in a multi-camera security system because of safety concerns.
“We're just asking for a safe city,” the man said. “We're not asking for too much. We're not asking for anything crazy.”
When asked if he was scared, he replied: “I mean, yeah, we have six kids around here, and there's constantly people coming. We can't sit outside on our porch without people coming up and trying to ask us for something. If we ask them to leave or to not to, they'll kick our trash cans over. They'll try to come in our yards, cause problems.”
While these residents’ concerns for safety are great, so are those for the welfare of these homeless people. They said they wish there were more resources in the Muskogee area to help them.
Although the intent behind the fires may not be malicious, MFD said these incidents are straining them and putting their firefighters in harm’s way more often.
“After a while, it starts wearing on you,” Haley told 2 News.
Even though they have enough staff, he said, “If you have two, sometimes even three fires in a day, you know, it takes a toll on a body.”
MFD is urging the community to remain vigilant and asking people to report any suspicious activity or see anyone entering an abandoned building to the police or the fire marshal’s office.
But Haley emphasizes that he shares the same concern for these vagrants’ welfare.
“We hope that the community works with us and the police department,” he said. “Our job isn't trying to put people in jail. Our job is try to keep the citizens of Muskogee safe.”
Luckily, there are some resources in Muskogee for people experiencing homelessness.
There’s Gospel Rescue Mission on 323 Callahan Street and Bridges Out Of Poverty on 1503 W. Broadway.
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