Greensburg implements scarlet-letter program for blighted buildings

Signs bearing a prominent red “X” recently appeared on about 20 of Greensburg's most dilapidated buildings to warn firefighters and other first responders to proceed with caution in case of emergency.

“It's an alert to not only the fire personnel, but also police, that, ‘Hello, don't run in there. There's probably nobody inside,' ” said city Planning Director Barbara Ciampini.

Similar initiatives are used in Chicago, Albany, N.Y., and other cities, she said.

Firefighters will search every burning building for people, but the signs provide valuable information, said Chief Tom Bell.

“We still act as if somebody's home, somebody could be in there, but it gives everybody a sense that, ‘Hey, we should use a little bit more caution,'” he said.

Bell has fought fires at vacant homes where renovations were abandoned halfway through.

“You go in and you find the stairwell to the basement was gone,” he said.

Hazards like missing stairs or holes in the floor can be tough to spot in a dark and smoky building, Bell said.

The city will frequently update the list of buildings to be marked with an “X,” Ciampini said.

“If there's noticeable signs of deterioration on the outside, then it gets an ‘X,' ” she said.

The city has spent several years fighting blight, in some cases taking property owners to court in an effort to get them to renovate or demolish dilapidated buildings.

A home on Talbot Avenue, one of the properties on the red-X list, will be demolished soon — the result of a city lawsuit against the holding company that owns it, Ciampini said.

The city is set to receive about $60,000 in Community Development Block Grant money to remove more blighted buildings, she said.

However, an “X” does not mean a property has been marked for destruction.

The vacant commercial building at 127-129 S. Pennsylvania Ave. has been given an “X” but is part of Greensburg's downtown historic district, and the city has no desire to see it demolished, Ciampini said. Instead, the city is taking owner Bayview Loan Servicing to court to try to get the decaying roof fixed.

Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6646 or jtierney@tribweb.com.