Point Douglas residents fed up with recurring fires at former Vulcan Iron Works site

Winnipeg residents living near the former Vulcan Iron Works building say they're sick and tired of the property catching fire over and over, and urge someone to step up and clean it up.

Several fire crews could be seen Saturday night trying to douse the flames of yet another blaze inside the property on Sutherland Avenue and Maple Street in North Point Douglas.

A huge fire completely gutted the building last July, leaving nothing but a partially collapsed structure and piles of rubble. Another in September further damaged it, with the city saying there have been several minor fires there since then.

North Point Douglas residents say they're frustrated to see the structure — which has been ordered to be demolished — is still standing.

"The city refuses to do anything here to clean this up," said Greg Fougere. "This place has been left for months.… This neighbourhood, they couldn't care less about us."

Fougere, who lives very close to the property, said last summer's fire forced him to evacuate his home.

"There was burning embers, burned our grass in our backyard, so I mean it's a health and safety issue," he said.

Saturday's fire "is business as usual for here. There will be another fire here in the next little while. That site was supposed to be secured. There's people in there every day digging through the scrap."

Property owner Sheldon Blank appealed an order by the city to clean up the site. A hearing on that appeal has been pushed back until April 22.

'What, again?'

Blank argues that the city's order contradicts a stop-work order issued by the province over concerns about possible asbestos in the rubble.

He previously told CBC News he didn't have insurance, so he doesn't have the money to pay for the extra costs for a wet demolition — soaking materials with water to prevent asbestos contamination.

On Sunday, Blank told CBC News he felt disappointed that he's not protected by city authorities. Blank said he couldn't comment further on the latest fire on his property until he spoke with his lawyer.

The city said there were no injuries reported after Saturday's fire. 

Katherine Bitney said her only reaction when she heard about it was, "What, again?"

"We're really tired of Mr. Blank's properties going up in flames over and over and over and over again," she said.

"Not just this one, but of course the one on the Point a few years ago that kept on going up in flames," Bitney said, referring to the Gateway Industries building, which had multiple major fires in the 2000s.

Bitney said she questions why the city and the province are allowing the property to just sit there, saying it impacts local businesses and people living in the neighbourhood.

She said the recurrent fires are a health hazard for people — particularly those who have respiratory illnesses, and the homeless population.

"There's poisons there," she said. "It fills the air with toxic smoke because we don't know what's in there, what's in the building."