Firefighters battle recurring fires at former Vulcan Iron Works building as demolition drags on
Property owner blames contradictory government orders, weather for stalled cleanup
Winnipeg fire crews were again fighting a fire at the former Vulcan Iron Works building in North Point Douglas on Sunday, the latest in a series of fires at the historic industrial building since a massive blaze tore through it in July.
The building was declared a total loss and ordered to be demolished after the July fire, but six months later, the pile of rubble and twisted metal remains largely untouched, except for at least two additional fires at the site, with one in September.
Firefighters responding to a call at 9:45 a.m. Sunday found heavy smoke and flames coming out of part of the building. The fire was brought under control by 11:15 a.m.
No one was found inside the building, and no injuries were reported.
Property owner Sheldon Blank said he's caught between contradictory orders — one from the City of Winnipeg telling him to clean up the site, and another from Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health, ordering work to stop until asbestos remediation is complete.
"You're in a quandary," Blank said in a phone interview on Monday.
"It's up in the air. It should be resolved."
The province issued a stop-work order on July 11, while the city issued an "order to mitigate unsafe conditions" on Sept. 5.
Blank appealed the city's order, and a hearing before the property and development committee was scheduled for December, but was postponed until February.
Blank says he didn't have insurance, which means he doesn't have the money to pay for the extra costs of asbestos remediation.
He also says the remediation, which requires soaking the material with water, can't happen in freezing temperatures.
"The property owner doesn't want his property to be started on fire, especially when you have a problem with older buildings, when there's the potential of asbestos, and the requirements to do the cleanup and demolition are enormous," he said.
For property owners in Point Douglas, Blank says it's "next to impossible to get insurance, because of the arsons."
Blank blames the fires on people breaking in to steal copper wiring. Sections of the security fence surrounding the site could be seen pulled open on Monday.
City of Winnipeg staff and members of city council have considered numerous proposals in recent months, aiming to take tougher action against owners of properties that pose ongoing problems.
Last fall, city council took no action on a motion from Daniel McIntyre Coun. Cindy Gilroy, which called for city crews to clean up demolition debris that has sat for a long time and bill the owner for the work. A city report warned the costs of the remediation work could exceed the value of the property.
On Monday, Mayor Scott Gillingham said he's looking into why the Vulcan Iron Works cleanup is taking so long. He wants council and the province to take tougher action on properties — including the possibility of expropriation.
"If you've got properties that have been boarded up for years, if there are tax arrears, if they're sitting derelict for years on end, that's not fair to the neighbours. It's neighborhood blight," he said.
Catherine Flynn, president of the Point Douglas Residents Association, said the delayed cleanup shows the need for decision-makers to get together and find solutions.
"I think they've got to find some way to get right and left hands talking and co-operating, because while they're diddling around, you're putting an entire community in danger," she said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
