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THE EDR-FIRE INSURANCE MAP AND CITY DIRECTORY ABSTRACT The EDR-Fire Insurance Map and City Directory Abstrdct is a screening tool designed to assist professionals in ' evaluating potential liability on a target property resulting from past activities on the property or adjoirung to the property Historical sources may include a review of Fire Insurance Maps and City Directories Fire Insurance Maps ' Fire Insurance Maps are produced for private fire insurance map companies (such as Sanborn, Perris, Spielman and Brush, Hexamer, Scarlett, and The Fire Underwriters Inspection Bureau) that indicate uses of properties at specified dates and that encompass the property Such maps were initially produced to provide information on the fire insurance risks of buildings and other structures Fire Insurance Maps have become a valuable historical resource for persons concerned with evaluating the presence of, or potential for site contamination based on past use Fire Insurance Maps are standard historical sources under ASTM E 1527-94 (Section 7 3 4) Fire Insurance Maps are publicly available for approximately 12,000 cities and towns for periods commencing as early as 1852 to the present Fire insurance ' map coverage is most comprehensive in older urban centers and suburbs, with scarce map coverage in rural areas and suburbs developed after 1950 ' EDR reviews microfilm collections of fire insurance maps available through the Library of Congress, University Publications of America, and various public local sources There may be instances where a fire insurance map not included in the searched microfilm collections is available in a private collection If gaps exist in historical use ' information, EDR recommends a review of an additional historical resource (e g , city directories, historical aerial photographs, and/or telephone interviews with local government officials) City Directories City directories have been published for cities and towns across the U S since the 18th Century Originally a list of town residents, the city directory developed into a sophisticated tool for locating individuals and businesses m a particular urban or suburban area Twentieth century directories are generally divided into three sections a business index, a list of resident names and addresses, and a street index With each address, the directory lists the name of the resident or, if a business operated from this address, the name and type of business (if unclear from the name) 1 While city directory coverage is comprehensive formajor cities, it may be spotty for rural areas and small towns ASTM E 1527-94 specifies that a "Review of city directories (standard historical sources) at less than approximately s five years intervals is not required by this practice (ASTM E 1527 94, Section 7 3 2 1, page 11 ) Disclaimer ' Pus report contains information obtained from a vanety of public and pnvate sources and IDR makes no representation or warranty regarding the accuracy,or reliability,quality, or completeness of said information or the information contained in this report The customer shall assume full responsibility for use of this report No warranty of merchantability or of fitness for pantcndar purpose,expressed or implied, shall apply and EDR specifically disclaims the making of such warranties In no event shall EDR be liable to anyone for special, tncidental, consequential or exemplary damages