’Another day, another fire’ Vacant home burns again as landlord awaits city approval of months-old demolition permit By: Malak Abas Posted: 5:42 PM CDT Monday, Aug. 12, 2024 Last Modified: 6:09 PM CDT Monday, Aug. 12, 2024 Updates

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The owner of a vacant, boarded-up William Whyte home says he’s stuck with a building that keeps burning while he waits for the city to approve a demolition permit he applied for months ago.

A fire Saturday at 362 Manitoba Ave. was the fourth one at the building since March. It was brief and caused no injuries.

The owner applied for a demolition permit in May, with hopes of tearing down the home and selling the land. He’s been waiting to hear back from the city’s planning, property and development department since.

“Another day, another fire,” the owner, who declined to provide his name, said Monday.

The house has been vacant since March 27, after the first of the four recent fires broke out. The landlord purchased the building in 2017, but said fires began springing up three years ago, becoming more dangerous, both to his property and others on the block. He expects to receive a bill to board up the place again after Saturday’s fire.

“Boarding it up means absolutely nothing,” he said. “If you use three-inch nails, they use a three-foot crowbar.”

The building is expected to cost around $70,000 to demolish, he said, but is covered by insurance. He knows he’s not the only building owner waiting — he said Imrie Demolition, the contractor tasked with his permit, has more than 40 others sitting in limbo that the city has delayed or stalled on.

“I emailed them on Saturday or Sunday, I said, ‘Can we expedite this one?’ Because obviously somebody’s got an in for that place, to have (four) fires in four months, that just doesn’t make sense,” he said.

A manager at Imrie Demolition confirmed the firm has been waiting on the permit since May but declined to comment further.

City of Winnipeg communications officer Kalen Qually said every vacant building damaged by fire is a unique situation.

“When looking at the demolition of a vacant building that’s been damaged by a fire, timelines can vary a great deal depending on a number of factors and on the actions of the property owner,” he said in an email.

While he did not refer to 362 Manitoba Ave. directly, he said factors include proper submission of the demolition application, co-ordinating the demolition with all utilities and ensuring taxes owed on the property are paid.

The landlord owns several properties in the North End. He previously owned a building on College Avenue, but it burned down about three years ago. He said any kind of preventative measure implemented by the city could make a difference.

“At least put up a fence around it,” he said. “That could be a start, all the buildings that are slated for demolition, at least put up a high fence around it.”

Ten days before the March 27 fire, a man was found shot in the building and later died in hospital. A Winnipeg man was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

The landlord said his building is part of a long line of systemic failures in Winnipeg that weren’t as prominent when he began developing properties in 1991.

“Now, it’s worse than it’s ever been,” he said.

Vacant building fires have become a burning issue in Winnipeg, particularly in the city’s core. The union representing city firefighters has said spikes in vacant building blazes have stretched resources thin and left psychological tolls on its members. Nearby residents have told the Free Press in the past the lots are dangerous eyesores that attract violence and gang activity.

City council has turned its focus to streamlining the process to take over derelict properties, including approving land acquisition programs to speed up the transfer of lots from owners looking to offload their properties to the city.

Council has also proposed permitting lots to be sold for as little as $1 to non-profit housing providers.

A motion passed in July will require stricter standards for boarding up homes.

“This property that has now had four fires is one of the very reasons we’re taking this issue very, very seriously, and it’s a priority for myself and council as well,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said at an unrelated news conference Monday.

Gillingham said he would discuss how the city could provide support to the owner of 362 Manitoba Ave. with his staff this week.

As of July, there were 695 properties monitored by the city through its vacant buildings bylaw.

The William Whyte Neighbourhood Association recently counted at least 42 burnt-out buildings in the area.

President Darrell Warren said he’s waiting for government to commit dollars to cleaning up the persistent problem.

“We’re working right now with the city, the province and the feds to go ahead and come up with money, because, unfortunately, demolition is a very costly process,” he said.

Warren wants to see the damaged, boarded-up homes replaced with affordable infill housing.

“There’s a lot of good people in the neighbourhood, in the William Whyte area. Unfortunately, we’re going through a bad spell right now,” he said.

“Once we can turn that around and get some houses on the lots, get families in there, it’s a win-win.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca