Early Morning Fire Turns Attention to Persistent Squatter Problem
Another fire in a squat in one of Tallinn's most notorious rundown areas, the Kopli lines, has many asking what can be done to address the problem.
Although many neighborhoods in north Tallinn have been scrubbed up and the district has been touted in the international press for its restaurants, the area running parallel to the tram tracks on the far reaches of the Kopli peninsula remains largely ungentrified.
Early Tuesday morning, a fire occurred in a building illegally inhabited by 11 people. Nine were injured and two were hospitalized.
It was the 13th fire in an abandoned building in Tallinn this year. Overall, fires are down this winter, but partly because there are fewer such buildings in Tallinn. Solutions to homelessness in Kopli remain challenging.
With regard to short-term solutions, the city district's administration says it inspects the houses constantly - several times a week - but it does no good.
"We are constantly boarding them up. The houses that are vacant have their windows and doors boarded and if anything is pried open, we go and close it up again," said Magnus Kiis, head of the management department for the city district. "But the windows should really be barred with metal to prevent this crew of repeat offenders from getting in."
Current materials are wood particle board and plywood, but those fall easy prey. Kiis says a solution would be to parcel off the entire neighborhood to a developer.
Põhja district rescue centre director Priit Laos said the latest incident was a fortunate one, as many such fires have been fatal.
"Last year there were a total 107 fires in abandoned buildings," said Laos. "As most of them are in the winter period, we hope this year's number will be smaller.
Contributing to the declining trend, the number of abandoned houses is down from 430 at the start of the decade to 270. About 150 of them are considered problem buildings.
"The same building was inspected this January. The North Tallinn District Government was notified and it should have been sealed."