'A significant problem': city begins charging vacant building owners for fire response services

The City of Winnipeg has begun charging vacant building owners for fire response services as a recent rash of fires in abandoned homes puts a strain on the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS).

"It does continue to be a significant problem," said Scott Wilkinson, WFPS assistant chief. "The reality is, the number of vacant building fires has been growing over the last few years - up to 84 last year - and we're on track now to equal or surpass that."

Earlier this week, WFPS crews were called to a vacant house in the 400 block of Ross Street for the fourth time since Apr. 8. The house became vacant when residents were forced out by the first fire on Mar. 26. Wilkinson said firefighters have been called back three times since for fires caused by people trespassing on the vacant property.

"When we have structures that are getting entered on a regular basis and we can't maintain security issues, or we get partially demolished ones, they create a risk to the community and our personnel," he said.

Security around burned-out structures has been an issue. Marc Ragot lives next door to a vacant house on Stella Avenue that burned down at the beginning of the year. He said the property was a magnet for crime and vandalism. "They were burning copper and wire, it was crazy!"

In January, city council voted to amend the vacant building bylaw, making building owners responsible for paying the total cost of the fire response services in the event of a fire.

The city has sent invoices for fire costs to the owner of nine properties so far. Wilkinson said he's waiting to hear back on how much is being charged, but said it's a significant amount.

"Our expectation is that the average residential structure fire could be anywhere between $10,000 - $14,000 based on our responses," said Wilkinson. "So those invoices have gone out, and they continue to go out and we're just waiting to get a report exactly on what the collection looks like."

Another fire early Tuesday morning saw a pair of boarded-up duplexes on Manitoba Avenue go up in flames. They, like the Ross Avenue house, are set to be demolished.

City councillor Cindy Gilroy would like to see more fines and provisions to force vacant homeowners to make sure security is in place around the properties. ""I think we do have to keep our homeowners accountable," she said.

Gilroy said it's about getting the homes fixed quickly so people can move in. "It's critical we get them up and running," she said. "We have a housing shortage, and this housing can be used."

Wilkinson said the WFPS is constantly working to stay on top of the issue. City committees are currently looking at improvements to home inspections and boarding standards to help reduce residential building fires. He said the city is also looking at ways to complete demolition of the burned homes more quickly.

"We're waiting for those reports to hit council, and continue to work together to see if we can make impacts," said Wilkinson.

He said the goal of charging for costs is to encourage land owners to rebuild quickly.

"We have a lot of these vacant buildings that we want remediated, I mean the goal is to actually have people living in the buildings and use them as affordable housing," Wilkinson said.

He added that inhabited buildings are much less prone to fire, so reducing the number of vacant buildings overall is good for everyone.

"At the minimum, we want them either secured or demolished to make sure they're safer for the community."

With files from CTV's Jeff Keele.