'I don't think it's really my fault': Winnipeg woman facing $100K in fines for fires in vacant home

A Winnipeg woman is facing more than $100,000 worth of fines because of fires in her vacant home.

Last year, under a new bylaw, the city started charging empty building owners the costs of fighting fires.

Following multiple blazes at her Elgin Avenue property, Maria Suzuki said the penalties she's received are unfair, and argues the city miscalculated the amounts based on the bylaw.

"I just could not believe it, I had to read it through three times," Suzuki told CTV News.

In 2022, Suzuki was set to rent out the property, but throughout the year she said it was broken into eight to 10 times. This left her to deal with thousands of dollars of damage, preventing her from getting new tenants inside.

"They took down the ceiling, the drywalls, they took down the copper and everything like that," she said. "It was a huge damage."

Then in 2023, there were multiple fires that Suzuki said were caused by arson.

That's when she received three big bills from the city totalling more than $100,000.

"I don't think it's really my fault somebody broke in and start the fires," she said. "Getting billed for the large amount, I don't know if it's fair."

Fires in vacant and derelict buildings are plaguing several Winnipeg neighbourhoods. Last year the city put a new bylaw in place to charge the owners of these properties the costs associated with fighting the blazes.

Suzuki's lawyer John Prystanski said based on his reading of the bylaw, he believes the fines should be closer to $2,600 each.

"What we're looking at here is the misapplication of the bylaw as it applies to the wording and to the invoice Ms. Suzuki received," he said.

Prystanski has sent a letter to the mayor's office and property chair Coun. Sherri Rollins asking for a reduction in the fines or a chance for Suzuki to make her case before a city committee.

"When we were setting up a bylaw that is tough, I did expect that we would hear from people about how tough it is," Rollins said.

It's unclear if Suzuki will have her say or get the fines cut, but it appears some changes are coming.

Despite the new bylaw, numbers show vacant building fires are increasing. There were 41 in 2020, 64 in 2021, and 84 in 2022.

As of mid-November, there have been 125 vacant building fires.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said based on feedback it's going to bring forward proposed changes to council to improve the billing process to ensure the strategy is working.

Suzuki also points out she complied with other vacant building rules like making sure the windows were boarded up.

Suzuki's lawyer said taking the issue to court is an option, but it could end up being just as if not more expensive as the fines themselves.