Task force aims to make small apartment buildings safer

Dan Wilson is a captain of the fire prevention task force that will be taking an inventory of all the wood frame walk up apartment buildings in New Westminster to rate them for their fire safety. The task force was formed in the wake of a fire in January that destroyed an apartment building on Ash Street.

image credit: MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER

The fire that destroyed an apartment building on Ash Street in January has sparked a task force to prevent such a conflagration from happening again.

New West fire chief Tim Armstrong said the eight-member task force will visit each of the city's approximately 500 wood frame walk-up buildings. Their task is to take an inventory of their age, construction, general condition and state of fire safety. The full tour should take 18 months.

He said such an effort was already in the works, but the Ash Street fire gave it more urgency.

"Ash Street was an example of how quickly this type of construction can get away from you in a fire," said Armstrong.

A special agreement with the firefighters' union will allow the task force to be on duty seven days a week. They will also make appearances at community events and provide public education.

New West Coun. Chuck Puchmayr praised the creation of the task force at a recent city council session.

"Anything you can do to give those tools to firefighters is very positive," Puchmayr said.

Puchmayr had called for the federal and provincial governments to find a way to help the owners of older buildings retrofit with sprinkler systems.

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Task force aims to make small apartment buildings safer