Fort Worth Halts Demolitions, 2 Wrong Houses Razed

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A North Texas city has halted demolitions of substandard structures after two houses wrongly were demolished this summer.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (http://bit.ly/13SeoKm ) reports a supervisor was put on administrative leave amid a review. City officials plan to rewrite procedures for demolition.

City spokesman Bill Begley said Wednesday that a city-hired contractor on July 11 tore down two homes on the same lot. The order was to raze just one house that had fire damage.

Fort Worth officials discovered that error while investigating the incorrect July 12 demolition of a Lake Worth-area home. Authorities determined a city crew marked the wrong structure to be razed.

Begley says the same contractor tore down both homes. The same city code compliance supervisor handled both cases.

Representatives of the contractor didn't immediately comment.

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Information from: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, http://www.star-telegram.com

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.