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Clarksburg resident urges probe after parents’ house destroyed in fire, alleges ignored code violations
Summary
A city resident told the council her parents’ house was lost to a fire she said could have been prevented, citing repeated, documented complaints about overgrowth, unlicensed vehicles and infestation and urging a formal investigation into code enforcement failures and city responsibility for demolition costs.
Camilla Cutlip told the Clarksburg City Council that her parents’ home at 1114 North 24th Street was destroyed by fire and later declared uninhabitable. She said repeated complaints dating back months about overgrown grass, unlicensed vehicles and a pest infestation were documented but not fully inspected, and she cited sections of the city’s property-maintenance code (PNC 104.1, 301.3 and 302.5) that she said required inspections the city did not perform.
“Before I go into this, I’d like to thank specifically Sergeant McLovany... he got them out of the house, saving my entire family’s lives,” Cutlip said, and later told the council: “The city had warnings. The city had the authority and the responsibility to us as citizens and as taxpayers to act, and it didn’t happen.”
Cutlip said she obtained records through a FOIA request showing code-enforcement notices, tagged vehicles and follow-up exterior inspections but no full interior inspection, and that pest complaints were not investigated before the fire. She told the council the house will be a “complete loss” and asked that the city investigate why its code-enforcement process did not prevent the outcome. She also asked the council to accept responsibility for costs related to demolition and to strengthen enforcement so other families are protected.
Council members directed Cutlip to leave contact information and said staff would follow up. One council member said staff would review the case records and would contact her with next steps; the record of a formal investigation or a council directive to open one was not included in the meeting transcript.
The comment underscores a recurring municipal challenge in balancing limited enforcement staffing with property maintenance and public-safety demands. The council did not take a formal vote during the comment period; the next procedural step offered on the record was for Cutlip to provide contact information for staff follow-up.
