Fort Belvoir has had a good record with the homeless. It turned over an old sewage-treatment facility to a shelter in 1986–even before the law required it. So why the recent burnings? An army spokesman says that county firefighters and agencies such as the FBI are getting valuable training, unavailable elsewhere, by fighting fires at the base. Last week local police exploded two buildings as part of a training exercise. The spokesman says the army can dispose of buildings as part of an internal “mission requirement,” such as training.
Meanwhile, Jana Graves, who runs a shelter in nearby Boston, Va., says that Fairfax County is currently housing about 40 people in motels because family shelters are full: “We’d certainly be interested in those buildings.” Too late. More than 100 have already gone up in smoke–and dozens more are scheduled to follow.
