Vacant properties can be a blight to neighborhoods, but they can also be a safety hazard to first responders.

At a recent Public Safety Committee meeting, Chairman and Fourth Ward Councilman Mike Civiletto asked the city fire and police chiefs if they are updated on the list of vacant properties.

“We get sporadic notifications and then if there’s something, a lot of times if there’s some damage to a property, Al (Zurawski, Housing, Building and Zoning officer) will forward something to us,” Fire Chief Mike Edwards explained.

Edwards said it would be good for firefighters to know about a home’s condition before entering.

“I don’t know if there’s a perfect way to do this, but it is helpful to know if a building is vacant. I know in the past we’ve talked about a way to designate or mark if they’re vacant … like a placard or even spray painted that they’re vacant and then if it’s a damaged structure or there’s structural damage to it, there’s another way that they could mark them. It is specifically for the safety of the firefighters to know number one if it’s vacant and number two if there’s any type of stairs missing inside or roofs collapsing. That is always good information to have, but I know it’s tough to keep up with that,” he added.

Police Chief Dave Ortolano said it would be helpful for his officers to know who is responsible for a home.

“We get calls on a regular basis for people that are squatting in some of these vacant houses and there’s really not a heck of a lot we can do unless we have somebody who says, ‘Yeah, they don’t belong in there,'” he said.

Councilman-at-Large Andy Woloszyn pointed out that reasoning is a good argument for the proposed rental registry law, previously dubbed the “Floramo Plan” after the late former Third Ward Councilwoman Rose Floramo.

“What you’re talking about having a local contact, I know that was something they were talking about for the rental policy and that’s a good reason that I don’t even think was brought up during the rental policy (discussion) that, yeah, the police and fire need a local contact in case something does happen,” he said.

Civiletto said he would approach the zoning and assessment offices to see how the police and fire department could get updated lists of vacant properties.

Also discussed was the promotion of the Nextdoor Neighbor app for promoting community policing efforts and the NY-Alert emergency notification system.

Civiletto also asked for clarification on the city’s fire pit law, which vaguely states that no open burning is permitted except for cooking. Edwards clarified cooking fires are only permitted with fuel such as gas, propane or charcoal. He added open fires, even in fire pits and chimeneas bought at local stores, are not allowed in the city and violators are warned then ticketed.

Civiletto proposed revising the law to exclude the mention of the cooking exception and making it more specific and clear. The committee agreed to go forward with the change with the city attorney.