Florida woman evicted over massive toy collection

WSFA ^ | 05/27/2017

[rb22982]

LOL

[TnTnTn]

She appears to be a sweet old lady; but yes she does have a problem. She is mentally disordered in some way and that much clutter, no matter what it is, is a danger to herself and others.

[momtothree]

... and on the next episode of Hoarders....

[bgill]

She has rented the apartment for 12 years

And not one fire.

[roadcat]

Who was the rotten person who turned her into the rotten bureaucrat that made this decree?

I agree. Whose business is it to interfere with what a woman wishes to collect within the confines of her home? Now if it were rows of marijuana plants under grow lamps, I can see a problem. But toys? Leave her alone!

I know lots of people who collect things. I'm one of them. I'm not at the point of clutter in my way within the house. I keep it confined and largely out of sight, and I own my home free and clear. I'm starting to whittle it down so it won't be a burden to my family when I expire, and I have a database explaining it all. The stuff is mine to enjoy while I'm here, and I have plenty of ammo to stop anyone trying to take it away!

[Daffynition]

Dovorce court

[GreenHornet]

Nancy Duchovnay's home is filled with thousands of toys. So many, in fact, there's only one place to sit down and just a small pathway through the house. The collection spreads through the living room, kitchen, bedroom and even the bathroom. Appliances and other household items are blocked because there are too many stuffed animals to access them.

This tells you that the situation has gotten out of control, and goes way beyond a "hobby' or "collection." Yes, she's a nice lady, and I hope she finds a decent place to live and gets control of the situation.

[21twelve]

Wow - that photo is really sad.

[fidelis]

"She has rented the apartment for 12 years"

And not one fire.

It only takes one.

[minnesota_bound]

At least they are not real cats....

[fidelis]

As a fire inspector, I’ve seen much worse, but it’s still bad enough. The problem is (1) it increases the fire load inside the apartment. The more combustibles, the faster the fire (and smoke) will spread and grow. This endangers not just her, but others in the building. If she lives on an upper floor, there is an increased risk of collapse from the amount of water needed to put out a fire with a high combustible load that soaks up a lot of water. (2) With the rapid fire spread, increased heavy smoke, and tripping obstructions hindering her escape, she’ll be lucky if she gets out of the building before she’s overcome by the smoke, and (3) it’s an increased risk of danger from fire and smoke and burning debris to firefighters who have to crawl through every room to fight the fire and look for victims. If you’ve never lived through or fought a fire in a burning apartment, you have no idea.

[EdnaMode]

Haha!

[fireman15]

I would bet dollars to donuts that the apartment management is short on their minority quota and they need to boot out a few white residents or they will lose some of their government $$$.

I have seen apartments with stinky, dirty flammable crap stacked to the ceilings everywhere. I am sure that there are some stuffed animals that will burn, but most stuffed animals these days are treated with flame retardants and won't stay lit even if you hold a candle to them. The only ones that aren't are expensive ones made of all natural materials made for rich kids.

Find a sacrificial stuffed animal from the dollar store and try to light it on fire and you will see what I mean. Most will make noxious fumes but will not sustain combustion unless you have an external heat source. If you want to make a mess... you will probably have to throw it on your grill to burn it up completely.

So I doubt seriously that this lady's collection is a fire hazard at all, and since most are fluffy things that weigh almost nothing the complete collection probably adds about as much “fire load” as a couch or two and that is being generous because furniture doesn't have to meet the strict standards that toys do.

25 years on the job and completing thousands of fire inspections says that this is complete BS.

[fireman15]

Sorry I meant to italicize a quote from you, but messed up.

[Daffynition]

A slice of life.

“Things” can own you. My motto: *If it’s not useful or beautiful, you probably don’t need it.* ;)

[Daffynition]

“I’m the Toy Lady of Jacksonville...”

People from Jacksonville are [ahem] a bit daffy...in a nice way. :)

[21twelve]

I was thinking of the two getting a divorce, with the lawyers over-seeing the divying up of the toys. Relatives looking on. No doubt thinking “If I grab this one - little Johnny will want to come to my place more often.”

And that the divorce was so screwed up that they needed a lawyer to watch!

[Taxman]

LOL!

I’m certain that there was more to this story than reported - after all, she had been lining in the apartment for 12 yuears, IIRC. A nosy neighbor busybody ratted her out.

[Daffynition]

I found her soulmate. Dead giveaway.

[GreenHornet]

Find a sacrificial stuffed animal from the dollar store and try to light it on fire and you will see what I mean. Most will make noxious fumes but will not sustain combustion unless you have an external heat source.

Okay, maybe one or two stuffed animals would not be dangerous in the event of a fire. However, if hundreds of these were exposed to fire and producing noxious fumes, what kind of situation would people be facing?