Winnipeg's vacant building owners to foot firefighting bill

Firefighters respond to a fire in a vacant home on Selkirk Avenue on Dec. 30, 2022. The City of Winnipeg is looking at the possibility of having owners of vacant properties pay for firefighting costs (Image source: Ken Gabel/CTV News Winnipeg)

Owners of vacant buildings in Winnipeg will now have to foot the firefighting bill if there is a fire on their property.

At city hall Thursday, councillors voted in favour of amending the city's vacant building bylaw. The move means owners of vacant buildings will be solely responsible for paying the total cost of the fire response services in the event of a fire.

"The goal of imposing fire protection fees on property owners is to encourage them to protect their buildings and really return them to the housing market," said Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort-Rouge East Fort Garry), chair of the property and development committee.

She called the change a tough-as-nails approach.

"I want building owners to do the right thing, securing their buildings and putting them into use because we are in a housing crisis."

A report to the city recommended the bylaw changes, saying between 2019 and 2021 there were 118 vacant structure fires, with estimated costs of $1.4 million. That means a single fire could lead to fees close to $15,000.

It lists fees charged would be $340 per hour for a district chief and driver, and $1,357 per hour for various emergency vehicles.

"I think this will do really, really good in the inner-city neighbourhoods where we are seeing a lot of fires in our vacant buildings," said Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel Mclntyre).

The bylaw change does have exemptions, including fires caused by unrelated arsons, natural disasters or when a vehicle collides with the building.

While he supported the motion, Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski) said the city also needs to be taking other steps to deal with vacant and derelict buildings.

Gilroy said this is a critical step for the city to take as it struggles to find affordable housing.

-With files from CTV's Jeff Keele