Moonsuited Crews Converge On Crime-Riddled Building

INDIANAPOLIS -- Moonsuit-equipped crews served a dual purpose Tuesday at a vacant apartment high-rise riddled by crime.

Multiple agencies were involved in both a training exercise and checkup of Keystone Towers, near Keystone Avenue and Binford Boulevard, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.

Representatives of the Indianapolis Fire Department, Indiana National Guard, Marion County Health Department and others were both working and training at the 15-story complex.

Crews examined the building for mold, asbestos and general unsafe conditions inside the building, which has been vacant since August 2008, when the last residents were evicted because of uninhabitable conditions.

"We wanted to make sure they are safe, and one of the best ways to do that was to put them in personal protection clothing and exercise their ability to use it," said Debbie Fletcher of Marion County Emergency Management."We wanted to make sure they are safe, and one of the best ways to do that was to put them in personal protection clothing and exercise their ability to use it," said Debbie Fletcher of Marion County Emergency Management.

Crews also took part in a weapons of mass destruction training scenario in which weapons were stored in the apartment building.

Since then, rampant illegal activity has taken place inside, and the building has been overrun by vagrants. The city has tried to keep the property boarded up, but vagrants have found their way inside.

"We've got a lot of squatters in the building. People come in and do illegal activity inside the building. They tear off the boards the health department puts up," said Officer Jeff Parmalee.

The building was constructed in 1974 as an office building, but was later converted into apartments. The company that bought the building in 2003 went bankrupt in 2006.