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Fires, threat of vandalism worry area home builders

By Maggie Ybarra
Friday, July 6, 2007

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Two house fires in the Albuquerque Acres neighborhood have some home builders in the area concerned about their property.

Both fires in the early morning of July 5 were sparked in homes under construction in the Northeast Heights community. While it's unclear whether the fires are related, Albuquerque Fire Department Capt. Mike Paiz said arson has not been ruled out in either case.

James O'Mary, who is supervising the construction of a home at 9005 Eagle Rock Ave. N.E., was concerned about the threat of vandalism but said there wasn't much he could do about it.

"If there's anybody that wants to do anything, there's no stopping them," O'Mary said.

From start to finish, it takes six months to build a house the size of those in the Albuquerque Acres neighborhood, O'Mary said. And if the house catches fire before it's finished, builders insurance will only cover so much of it, he said.

O'Mary estimates the financial loss for a builder could be $200,000 or more.

Grant Hess is also building a home on Eagle Rock. He said he planned to review his insurance policy to see how much it will cover in the event of a fire.

"I probably need to read the fine print," Hess said. "I'm going to check with my insurance agent now as I'm sure a bunch of us will."

Hess said he received two calls in the morning inquiring as to whether it was his house that had burned down.

The fires occurred within a one-block radius of each other. One was a home being built by Mock Associates Inc. within city limits at 8839 Black Oak N.E. The other was a home by Picasso Builders at 9720 Eagle Rock Ave. N.E., which is outside city limits in Bernalillo County.

Despite the closeness in proximity and numerous response teams, the Black Oak residence proved to be salvageable while the home on Eagle Rock burned to the ground.

Builders say that county property is served by wells whereas city property has access to fire hydrants.

Two weeks ago, a house under construction at 6903 Venice Ave. N.E., on the border of the city and county zoning boundary, caught fire after an electrician lit a fuse.

Jim Higgon, an employee for Chuck's Cabinet, said he left for lunch and returned to see the house in flames.

The Albuquerque Fire Department was quick to respond but had a hard time extinguishing the fire.

"Then they ran out of water and couldn't put it out," Higgon said. "There ain't no fire hydrants around here."

Hess said the majority of Albuquerque Acres is in Bernalillo County. "I've never seen fire hydrants up there in those neighborhoods," Hess said.

Bernalillo County Fire Department spokesman Lt. Paul Chavez said the lack of hydrants had nothing to do with the difference between the damage at the two houses that burned on July 5.

"There's a lot of different criteria that quickness of a fire falls under, like how fast a fire burns," Chavez said. "Typically a house that's not far along in construction tends to burn faster and a house that has stucco already will suffocate a fire. Basically because the fire inside is starving for air as opposed to the other one that had more oxygen available to it."

Hess said he could not defend his house against a vandal or a fire while it is in the process of construction.

"At the framing stage, it's just a matchbox," Hess said. "And I'm sure that's what the vandals are looking for."