MINNEAPOLIS -- As if fighting a fire wasn't hard enough. When firefighters can barely get in because of overgrowth or have a tough time getting through the house because there's so much stuff inside, the potential for something to go wrong is very high.
"They go into a situation like this and not only is it dark and smoky, but it's filled with stuff," says Cherie Penn with the Minneapolis Fire Department.
On Wednesday, a Minneapolis home was so full of things firefighters had trouble attacking the fire, says Penn. The homeowner managed to get out.
Investigators say the fire began in a back corner on the 1st floor. The cause of the fire is undetermined.
Last year, a Minneapolis man died when his home caught fire. Emergency crews had a hard time getting to him because the home was filled with garbage.
"This is an extremely dangerous situation," says Penn.
It is a stark warning about the dangers of keeping so much stuff in your house in the way. No one can get by or get to you in an emergency say first responders. Sometimes the compulsion to keep is so severe, it's a kind of obsessive compulsive disorder called hoarding, now featured on reality television. Experts call it a secretive illness afflicting millions.
Nikki Havens owns Bloomington-based Seriously Organized, a professional organizing business. Many of her clients are hoarders. She also works with fire marshals statewide.
Nikki describes hoarding as a psychological compulsion to keep things - often triggered by trauma.
"For hoarders, being around that stuff kind of gives them this sense of security," says Havens.
Nikki says helping a hoarder is not about cleaning up the mess. It's about getting at the causes behind the mess.
"I want people who have family members that they're concerned about to seek help," says says.
Nikki says hoarders can work with counselors, therapists, organizers.
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