Saturday, March 03, 2012

Meth Lab Explosion Leaves Home Uninhabitable; Premises Suspected To Be In Foreclosure Drags Down Quality Of Life For Surrounding Neighbors

In Lilburn, Georgia, WGCL-TV Channel 46 reports:
  • Many residents in a Lilburn neighborhood are fed up with what's left of a home on Spring Mill Drive. One year ago, a meth lab explosion inside killed three children, and damaged the home beyond the point of being inhabitable. The people living there were either arrested or fled from authorities, and haven't been found.


  • Initially shocked by the tragedy, neighbors have become weary of the house as it falls into disrepair, without an owner to take care of it. Several windows are boarded up, and signs of damage from the explosion are visible.


  • "Can't really do anything to the house, and I don't know, maybe technically we're not even supposed to be in the yard," said nearby resident Donna Sowell. She said some of her neighbors have taken their own lawn mowers to occasionally trim the grass, and take care of fallen tree limbs. But the structure, itself, is out of their hands.


  • Most people in the neighborhood now assume the property went into foreclosure after the explosion, and is owned by a bank.


  • "It affects the quality of life for everyone on this street," said Sowell. "I'd hate to be trying to sell a house, and (the former meth lab house is) the first thing perspective buyers see coming into the neighborhood."

Source: One year after meth lab explosion, home lingers as eye sore.