Vacant building owners to pay if firefighting required
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75 per week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel anytime.
The owners of vacant buildings in Winnipeg will be charged the cost to battle fires at their properties.
Council has approved a call to have Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service bill property owners for that work.
That means owners of properties that have received at least one vacant-building bylaw inspection will now be charged for fire responses, with exemptions for blazes caused by natural disasters or vehicle collisions, as well as those that started at another property.
Concerns about vacant homes burning have grown in recent years. The city could have charged property owners about $1.4 million for firefighting if this policy was in place from 2019 to 2021, according to WFPS.
Under the new rules, a two-hour residential fire response could spark a $15,000 bill for the owner, depending which equipment and officials respond.
Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Joyanne loves to tell the stories of this city, especially when politics is involved. Joyanne became the city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press in early 2020.
