Snapshots of living conditions within Nanaimo's two temporary housing sites. (Nanaimo Fire Rescue)

By Spencer Sterritt

Terminal and Labieux

Fire calls decrease at Nanaimo’s temporary housing sites, serious concerns remain

Jun 13, 2019 | 5:13 AM

NANAIMO — After a rash of false alarms, the number of fire calls at Nanaimo’s contentious temporary housing sites is decreasing.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue chief Karen Fry confirmed to NanaimoNewsNOW the situation is improving at both housing sites, on Terminal Ave. and Labieux Rd., regarding fire safety.

In May, crews responded to two fire alarm calls at the Terminal Ave. housing site. This is down from five in April. One of the April calls was an actual fire in a unit which displaced roughly 20 clients.

“The (Terminal Ave site) is improving and we’ve seen the most change at this location since the fire,” Fry said in a statement.

The sites house roughly 150 people displaced after downtown Nanaimo’s sprawling tent city was dismantled at the end of 2018. They were hastily built by BC Housing and are made out of temporary workplace housing used on lengthy construction projects in remote areas.

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Fry stressed there’s still work to be done and improvements to be made at both sites.

Two lengthy documents detailing the high number of fire calls to the housing locations was obtained by concerned residents and shared through the community this week.

The photos found within, taken during inspections and fire calls in recent months, paint a squalid picture.

Rooms are piled high with junk. Bicycles, many presumed stolen, fill the hallways and are stacked up outside. Trash is scattered everywhere. Fire extinguishes have been stolen.

Details of the many fire calls highlight the frustration felt by Nanaimo Fire Rescue staff repeatedly being called to the sites.

The March 1 incident report for a call to Labieux Rd. noted the alarm going off was “due to burnt toast-again.”

Crews responded to the Terminal Ave. site three times on March 6.

In one of the calls, firefighters found an occupant using a grinder on some metal, which triggered the alarm. An emergency heat blanket covered the fire detector, which had already been sprayed with a foam.

The other two calls couldn’t determine a cause for the activated alarms.

A letter written by chief fire prevention officer Ennis Mond on March 27 said fire crews responded to 29 preventable false alarms in only roughly four months.

Given the number of calls, fees are now charged when crews respond to false alarms. This is the process when properties are designated as nuisance properties, in order to recoup some expenditures and deter further bad behaviour.

Early in 2019, coun. Sheryl Armstrong tried to have the properties officially listed as nuisance properties but her motion was denied.

As of Wednesday, June 11, eight separate $300 fines were placed on the temporary housing sites for false alarms.

Fire activity is decreasing around the temporary housing sites, but it’s unclear if criminal activity is also lessening.

Nanaimo RCMP announced a task force was being created to specifically handle crime at the temporary housing complexes after calls for service dramatically increased.

The team of six general duty and plain clothes officers hit the streets near the end of April.

Despite numerous requests, Nanaimo RCMP has refused to discuss or provide a statement about the task force and any results.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit