Fire Commissioner ignites frustration for St. Eustache family

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This article was published 04/02/2011 (5642 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A St. Eustache man and his family say they want to know why he received a bill for his home being boarded up after it was damaged by fire last fall.

Nelson McKay’s house was levelled following a Sept. 12 blaze that caused major damage to his home and destroyed most of its contents. An investigation determined arson was the cause of the fire but no charges have been laid.

McKay, a 69-year-old pensioner on a fixed income, had no insurance on the home or his belongings. A community fundraiser helped raise more than $10,000 to help him.

On Dec. 2 McKay received a letter from the private contractor stating he owed $367 after the company boarded-up the house while fire officials investigated the cause of the blaze. The house was subsequently demolished.

McKay, who wasn’t considered a suspect in the investigation, said he was shocked when he opened the letter.

“When I got the bill I thought it was pretty steep for just four little pieces of plywood,” he said. “I would have had a little trouble paying it.”

McKay’s daughter, Melanie, said the letter was the first indication her father received that he would have to pay for the work.

“When we were talking to Ken Giersch at the Office of the Fire Commissioner, he never once said we would be getting a bill for almost $400,” she said.

“We got the first bill on Dec. 2 and my dad actually got another letter from the contractors stating that the amount owing was past due.”

The McKays sent a letter to the fire commissioner’s office and to the contractor who did the work but did never received a reply.

“It is so ridiculous that no one is telling us what is going on,” she said.

Henry Thiessen, a spokesperson for Winnipeg Building & Decorating Ltd., which conducted the demolition, said his company normally submits demolition bills to a property owner’s insurer. How­ever, bills are sometimes sent directly to the owner if the property in question was not insured, he said.

McKay received some good news late last week. A provincial spokesperson said the bill was mistakenly sent to the homeowner instead of the fire commissioner’s office and he will not be responsible for paying it.

“When we received the family’s letter we checked into it and realized they shouldn’t have received this bill,” the spokesperson said. “The Office of the Fire Commission has taken care of this and a letter should be on its way to the family.”

Melanie McKay said that while she is relieved her dad won’t be responsible for the bill, she is frustrated by the anguish it caused her family.

“It is so pathetic that we have to go through the newspaper to get any information,” she said. “We had a lot more help from the Headingley RCMP detachment when finding out about the arson investigation.”
McKay said he is relieved that he won’t be on the hook for the bill.

prescott.james@canstarnews.com