For the second time in two weeks, a home awaiting demolition and redevelopment in Moodyville has been set ablaze, likely an accident by squatters.
An off-duty North Vancouver City Fire Department member noticed smoke coming from the home at 622 East Third St. just before 8 a.m. Friday and called 911. Crews arrived shortly after and attacked the fire as it was beginning to burn through the Second World War-era home’s second floor.
On Nov. 7, an empty home at a development at 613 East Third St. caught fire. In that case, it appeared to have been started by tealights left burning amid debris. The exact cause of Friday morning’s fire isn’t known yet but Fire Chief Dan Pistilli said the circumstances appear similar.
The properties were both fenced off and boarded up but the one damaged by fire Friday morning had already been broken into once several months ago, resulting in a gas leak when someone was attempting to strip the home of its copper wiring and pipes.
In all of the cases, the person occupying the home fled. The neighbourhood has several redevelopments pending and Pistilli said he’s pushing to get 24-hour security posted.
“We’re going to be organizing a meeting to facilitate quicker demolition,” he said. “We’re going to put a lot of the onus on the developers to provide security. It’s tough on the resources. The RCMP will do patrols but we’re trying to put it more on the developers to maintain a safe, secure development site.”
