ALPENA — A burned Alpena house slated to be demolished this week will remain standing, for now, after asbestos was found inside the home, according to Andrea Kares, director of planning and development for the City of Alpena.

The out-of-state owner of the Washington Avenue home, which was destroyed by fire in May 2020, was given until today to have the remaining structure to be demolished.

That deadline will not be met after the homeowner notified the city of the presence of asbestos, a mineral commonly used in home building materials before the 1970s and known to be a health hazard.

Demolishing the house will increase the danger that the asbestos will be released into the air, so extra time will be needed to make sure it comes down safely, Kares explained.

She was unsure why the homeowner or construction crews didn’t detect the asbestos earlier.

On a main thoroughfare through the city, the house’s badly burned walls and interior have been left standing for nine months because the city lacked ordinances to force the owner to move more quickly in clearing the property, according to Kares.

The city is developing a new ordinance to require the quick removal of abandoned and burned houses in the future, Kares reported.

The city is working with the property owner and a contractor to determine options for removing the debris and transporting it to an appropriate landfill, Kares said. She was unable to say how long that process may take.