Dennis Cibulka says he isn’t a hoarder. The fire department disagrees. Cibulka has been yelling at firefighters for the past three days as they empty mounds of belongings from his Davisville home.

The city boarded up his home 18 months ago after deeming it a fire hazard – so full, they said, they couldn’t open the front door. He’s been living on his porch ever since, feeding a colony of cats that roam the property.

But hoarder is a four-letter word to 63-year-old Cibulka, who uses four-letter words with abandon.

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“No, I don’t believe that, OK. I’m a scavenger, OK,” he said from his backyard Friday as kittens dug into some cat food he found somewhere. “Look, look, I scavenge something — you mean I’m not going to hold onto it? What would be the point of that, eh?”

Cibulka has lived in the posh neighbourhood, where BMWs and Mercedes fill driveways, since his parents bought the house in 1959. After his mother died in 2004, he fell into a bitter battle with his sister over the property they both inherited. He says he has little left of his inheritance except for the house.

“They’re taking away all my cardboard — how am I supposed to stay warm at night?” he asked, pointing to the chaise lounge he sleeps on.

Fire officials, clad in protective coveralls and gas masks, began clearing his house Wednesday, tossing clothing, paper, plastic and boxes into a dumpster on the front lawn.

Division Chief Jim Stoops said the fire department had been trying for years to get Cibulka to remove the build-up of flammable belongings.

Stoops said the fire department deals with up to 100 hoarding cases every year in Toronto, but only a handful require intervention on this scale.

Maggie Bechamp, who lives next door to Cibulka, said her biggest frustration is the cats which roam the property.

“They make a mess. They smell. They dig things up,” Bechamp said, adding that a long-term solution is needed.

“The last little while has been frustrating for everyone,” she said. “There doesn’t seem to be anything in place to help someone like Dennis.”

Local councillor Josh Matlow said the situation underscores the need for a city-wide solution to tackle hoarding, one that links departments such as public health, animal control and the fire department.

“I don’t know if there’s a community across the city where you can’t find a story like this,” Matlow said.

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A staff report coming before council next month proposes the city create a special response unit dedicated to tracking and responding to extreme hoarding cases.

Yet that is little solace to Cibulka, who pointed out the skeleton of a dead kitten, which he blamed on officials boarding up his home. Without success, he had hired lawyers to fight the city.

A public health nurse has been on site during the clean-up to work with Cibulka.

“Dennis has gone through psychiatric testing. He hasn’t been found to be unable to take care of himself,” Matlow said.

Despite the animosity of his neighbours — except for a woman named Judy who brings him food — Cibulka wants to remain, preferably inside his home. Once the firefighters remove enough stuff to deem it safe, Cibulka will be able to move back inside.

“I’ve been here for more than 50 years, where am I going to live?” he asked. “But I have no money now. That’s the real quandary.”