Nuisance home demolished after new fire

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - For years an Albuquerque home has attracted one problem after another, and after three fires in just four months, the city made an emergency declaration to tear it down.

The home in the 600 block of James Street NW near Fourth and Griegos has been vacant since January 2012. That's when the city deemed it unlivable. Since then it's been a target for squatters and even possible arsonists.

Wednesday it was bulldozed by the Safe City Strike Force.

"An emergency demolition was done on this property due to imminent danger," said Joe Martinez with the Safe City Strike Force. "It was in danger of collapsing."

The home caught fire again during the weekend. After the incident the city decided it needed to go down immediately.

"There's a lot of people running around trying to salvage stuff, and for them to climb in there and to have the structure collapse would be horrible," Martinez said.

Neighbors who didn't want to be identified said they're happy the city is finally doing something.

"It's been two years in the making," one man said. "I'm surprised that they actually acted on it instead of just kept talking about it."

Neighbors say the home has been nothing but a nuisance and allege the previous tenants were selling drugs out of the house.

Officials say they've contacted the property owner, and he will be responsible for the $7,000 demolition.