Too Much Junk: Compulsive Hoarders Pose Risk to Firefighters
From the standpoint of firefighter safety, compulsive hoarding or the uncontrollable urge to collect and keep a lot of worthless stuff, can completely change a firefighting game plan. With junk piled inside a residence there’s more fuel to burn, normal access routes may be blocked and cross ventilation made more difficult if not impossible, to name just some of the obstacles firefighters and emergency medical technicians may encounter.
Police and firefighters are often the first people from outside a family to become aware of a compulsive hoarding that’s become a threat to public health and safety.
