When a family finally rings us, the thing they mention first is the smell, or that they cannot get Mum's door open. What keeps us awake is the fire risk, because a hoarded home does not burn like an ordinary one, and the person living in it is the least able to get out. Our hoarding and squalor clean ups are planned around that risk before anything else.
Why a hoarded home burns differently
Three things change when a house is full.
- Fuel load. Paper, cardboard, clothing and plastics stacked to waist height are exactly what a fire wants. A small kitchen fire that would normally stay in the kitchen has a continuous path to every other room.
- Blocked escape. Narrow goat tracks through the clutter, doors that only open halfway and windows that cannot be reached turn a thirty second exit into a trap, especially for someone older or unsteady on their feet.
- Firefighters cannot get in. Crews searching for a person in a hoarded home are slowed by the same piles, and the extra weight of soaked material can bring floors and ceilings down.
Add the common ignition points in these homes, a bar heater pushed up against a pile, cooking on a stove surrounded by paper, an overloaded power board under a mattress, and the risk is not theoretical. Fire and Rescue NSW has said publicly for years that hoarding is one of the conditions that most worries its crews.
What Fire and Rescue NSW asks of every household
The advice is the same for every home, and it matters most in a full one:
- Working smoke alarms on every level and near bedrooms, tested regularly and not buried under belongings
- Two clear ways out of every room, and a clear path to the front and back doors
- Heaters at least a metre from anything that can burn, and turned off before sleep
- No candles, and nothing stored on or beside the stove
- Power boards not overloaded or covered
If you can only do one thing in a hoarded home this week, make it the smoke alarms and the path to the door.
What Sydney councils can and cannot do
Councils get hoarding complaints from neighbours, agents and families, and most now handle them through a welfare response before anything formal. That usually means an environmental health or community services officer visiting, assessing safety, and trying to connect the person with their GP, family and support services. Councils can issue orders under public health and local government legislation where a property is a genuine risk to the occupant or neighbours, but in our experience they treat that as a last resort, because a forced clean out without support tends to be undone within a couple of years. Where several agencies are involved, housing, health, fire and council, they often work together on a plan rather than each sending letters.
If you are the family, a council visit is not something to dread. It often gives a reluctant parent the external nudge that a son or daughter cannot.
Worried about a neighbour?
Talk to them first if you safely can. Many people living with hoarding are isolated and know the house has got away from them. If that is not possible, or you are concerned for their health, contact your local council and ask for the team that deals with hoarding and squalor. In an emergency, or if you believe someone is trapped or at immediate risk, call 000. You do not need to prove anything to raise a concern, and councils do not disclose who made the call.
How a staged clean up reduces the risk quickly
The whole house does not need to be finished for the fire risk to drop. On day one of a staged clean up we go for the things that kill people: clear the exits and hallways, clear the kitchen and around the stove, move everything away from heaters and power points, and uncover and test the smoke alarms. A home can go from dangerous to survivable in a day, with the person agreeing every item that leaves. The rest of the rooms can follow over the next days or weeks, at their pace.
We have done this for 20 years across Sydney and the Central Coast, privately and without judgement, and the first day is nearly always less frightening than the person imagined. If you are trying to work out how to raise it with someone you love, start with our hoarding help and advice page, or call Chris on 0416 898 507 and let us explain it to them.
Common questions
Can the fire brigade inspect a hoarded home?
Fire and Rescue NSW runs home fire safety visits and will give advice, and crews pass serious concerns on to councils and other agencies. They are there to make the home safer, not to punish anyone, and a visit is often welcomed once it is explained that way.
Will a council order force my parent out of the house?
Rarely, and not as a first step. Councils generally work with the household and support services first. Orders tend to follow only where there is a serious risk and no progress, and they usually require the hazard to be fixed rather than the person to leave.
How fast can you make a home safe?
Exits, kitchen and heat sources can usually be dealt with on the first day. A private visit to quote comes first, often within a few days of your call, and the job is priced as one fixed quote regardless of how many visits it is spread over.