Indiana City Inspectors Say Cluttered Courthouse Floor is Fire Hazard

Fire inspectors in a north-central Indiana city have told county officials to clean up the Miami County Courthouse’s cluttered fourth floor.

The Kokomo Tribune reports that courthouse employees have used the fourth floor for decades as a dump site for broken furniture, worn-out office equipment and stacks of old books and outdated documents.

Department heads will be allowed to salvage supplies they might use before the rest of the items are auctioned off or thrown out. Some documents must be saved or scanned under state law.

Inspectors declared the area a fire hazard due to stacks of paper stacked near a furnace and the possibility of firefighters having to navigate through piles of junk.

Fines for not complying with fire codes range from $150 to $2,500.