Arson plagues city, Point Douglas

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This article was published 08/10/2021 (1456 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Residents in Point Douglas through the North End are all too familiar with black smoke billowing up from burning buildings, as when flames licked up Gateway Industries at 2 Point Douglas Ave. on Sept. 28. The fire diffused a pungent and almost rubbery smell through much of the area.

When The Times visited the site again on Oct. 4, the rubble was either still smouldering or had reignited, and fire trucks had returned to extinguish it.

Police arrested 21-year-old Kelsey Ann Thompson the day after the fire was set and charged her with arson in connection with the blaze.

According to the Winnipeg Police Service, there have been 512 recorded arsons citywide between July 2020 and June 2021. That’s up from 414 for the same period of the previous year, an uptick of 23.7 per cent.

“We’re always concerned about a rise in numbers,” said Derek Grignon, public education officer for the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service. “I don’t know how we can draw a conclusion as to what in society is causing that increase, but I would guess it’s got something to do with the pandemic.”

Grignon said there are both intentional and unintentional arsons. Some might be caused by kids playing with matches or someone trying to keep warm in cold weather, and others are sparked with malicious intent, he said.

The best way to discourage arsonists is through yard maintenance, Grignon said.

“Any time you have any kind of furniture, old junk or piled leaves or grass or yard debris up against the building, it’s a real inviting situation for arsonists,” he said.

Grignon also said vacant buildings present a serious arson risk.

In the case of the fire at Gateway Industries, owned by Sheldon Blank, nearby residents were forced to evacuate as a precaution and sent one firefighter to hospital, all these conditions for arson risk may have been met.

Winnipeg Police Service Const. Dani McKinnon said in a press conference the warehouse that caught fire was vacant.

City of Winnipeg spokesperson Erin Madden said by-law enforcement officers visited the site June 2020 to investigate a complaint.

“A number of violations were cited at that time in relation to the upkeep of the building — structural issues, exterior walls issues, garbage on the property and other risks,” Madden wrote in an email.

Madden said property owners are expected to comply with city bylaws, even if their buildings are vacant. 

In 2018, a demolition permit was issued, and subsequent inspections to the one in June 2020 were put off due to the permit, according to Madden. Five days before the fire, officials from planning, property and development granted a three-year extension for the demolition, Madden said.

There have been a number of smaller outdoor fires at the property and two major structural fires in 2011 and 2014, Madden wrote.

Some Point Douglas residents are angry about the repeated blazes.

“The people that live right next to it have had this crap showered on them over and over,” resident Kate Bitney said, referring to smoke and ash from fires at the business known to have manufactured soap, cleaning compounds, pesticides and other agricultural compounds over the years.

Madden said the property was classified as a low-risk industrial property based on the type of operations known to happen there, but “at the time of the fire it is not known what was on site.”