Neighbors are worried the leftovers from a deadly house fire could become dangerous projectiles if it storms in Southwest Cape Coral.
The badly burned, exposed house is at 912 SW 6th Ave., where you can see the charred shell of a car in the garage. Big sharp metal, pieces of the garage and other debris is scattered all over the yard.
A man and his cat died in August after the flames erupted at the home. Neighbors want to know why the city hasn't done anything to make the property safer.
"Who’s going to be responsible for all that stuff flying around to everyone’s house?" said Cindy Nicol, who lives across the street. "Just the mental anguish, where everyone has to get up and look at that every morning."
Some neighbors have seen squatters go in and out, as the back of the house is caved in. Another neighbor who needs an oxygen machine to manage her health told NBC2 that living so close to the singed house is debilitating for her.
"Every time it rains, I can’t go outside for days," said Lisa Marie. "Because I’ll just get just a sniff of it... and when it rains, you can smell in my garage, you can smell it my car."
According to the Lee County Property Appraiser, Wells Fargo Bank took possession of the house.
NBC2 asked both the city of Cape Coral and the bank why more hasn't been done to secure the debris or board up the house. By 6 p.m. Wednesday, the city and the bank were both still working on their responses.
Between NBC2's newscasts, a man who told our reporter he was with a property preservation company came by and took pictures of the house. He said the bank called him but seemed surprised at the condition of the house.
You can count on NBC2 to keep you updated as we work to learn more.