House of horrors gets cleaned up

MILFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- A house of horrors in Milford had neighbors complaining to the city about the disgusting conditions and asking for help.

Almost three weeks ago, the people who lived in that Milford house got evicted, leaving behind a huge mess. Garbage everywhere, dirty dishes in the sink, and so much stuff down in the basement that you can't see that raw sewage is leaking in there. And outside, there are bags and bags of rotting garbage that brought out the rats.

"The Board of Health inspector found a dead rat on my porch," said Tom White, "my wife was so upset. We keep our place spotless."

White lives right across Burnt Plains Road from the awful house. He called the Health Department about the mess.

"They said they'd send somebody out, take a look at it and they would take care of it," White said.

However, when all that garbage was still there after two weeks, White called News 8. We took his concerns right to the Health Director who says this is a growing and complicated problem.

"People facing foreclosure have to move out and they leave these properties there," said Dr. A. Dennis McBridge, "and the issue is who do you contact to remedy the problems?"

Meanwhile, a funny thing happened just a few hours after News 8 first arrived on Burnt Plains Road and started making phone calls about the property: a contractor showed up to begin an extensive cleanup.

They got the call to rush down from New Hampshire right after News 8 showed up. And the experts say the house is about the worst they've ever seen.

"People hoarding, not cleaning up, so we hazmat up, and go at it," said John Hersey, Comprehensive Property Services. "Start at the top floor and bring it down."

Which they did, to the relief of the neighbors.

"I just wish the city could operate as fast as the news media does, you know," said White.

However, the city can only do so much for a property owned by an out-of-state bank.

"So we might be working very hard to get things resolved, but on the other hand, the public might not see it," McBride said.