Jun 18, 2009 5:26 pm US/Central
Oops! Firefighters Chop Up Wrong House
Owner Is Suing After His Property Was Damaged In Training Exercise
OAK PARK, Ill. (CBS) ―
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James Bogard stands in his severely damaged Oak Park house after the fire department used it as a training tool.
CBS
Imagine coming home to find extensive damage: floors ripped up and huge holes in your walls and ceiling. A suburban man is suing over this incredible damage. It was all part of a training exercise by Oak Park firefighters. The only problem is they did those drills in the wrong house. CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli talked to the unhappy homeowner Thursday.
It all started when a developer allegedly told Oak Park its firefighters could train in two houses he was prepared to demolish and redevelop. Then the market collapsed and the deals went south. But the homeowner of one of the two buildings on Forest Avenue says he was never in on the so-called deal and couldn't believe what happened to his home 18 months ago.
James Bogard walks what's left of his Oak Park investment property.
"What we have here is the living room/dining room combination, and the damage you can see is created from the village of Oak Park's fire department," Bogard said.
He says it was reduced to this condition by the city's fire department which used it to conduct fire training exercises that involved cutting and widespread destruction.
"Upon purchase, this property was in totally livable condition," Bogard said.
Now Bogard says it's a tear-down. And to make matters worse, in a federal lawsuit, Bogard says he never gave permission for the fire department to use the house as a more than $400,000 training tool.
Bogard's attorney says permission was granted by Barney O'Reilly, a developer who he says fraudulently identified himself as the owner of the property in this document.
"The problem with this document is Mr. O'Reilly has no authorization on behalf of the owner, my client James Bogard," said attorney Jim Macchitelli. "That's the fraud."
Bogard says what's unforgivable is that the fire department never checked to see who really owned the home.
"Another resident shouldn't be able to walk in and claim to be an agent or an owner of a property," Bogard said. "I think the village should have done some form of due diligence."
To add insult to injury, Bogard and his attorney say the city keeps sending written demands that Bogard repair what the fire department destroyed.
"When he advised them, 'Hey, wait a minute, you guys destroyed my house', they kind of told him that was his problem," Macchitelli said.
Oak Park officials declined to go on camera saying they have not yet been served with the suit, but they did vow to defend their position vigorously.
Bogard and his attorney vow to attack that position because they say the fire department is there to protect homeowners, not to leave them feeling burned.
"I don't understand how a municipality would be so lax and not find out who the actual owner of this building is that they're going to destroy," Macchitelli said.
Bogard is seeking a half million dollars in damages.
Barney O'Reilly's last known address was in Mokena. CBS 2 called his last known phone number but it has been reassigned to another customer.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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