Yarmouth’s fire chief says it’s up to the owners of vacant properties to make sure they’re secure.
John Verrall made the comment after last night’s fire that destroyed a large former multi-unit apartment building in the south of Yarmouth.
The structure was leveled by excavator after it became engulfed in flames.
Chief Verrall says presently, it’s difficult to know exactly how many of these vacant buildings exist, but he says there’s quite a few.
“They should be boarded up by the persons who own them otherwise they end up being used. If there’s a vacant building, there is a town policy requiring it to be secured but most times we don’t know about it until we’ere told.”
The RCMP had been called to the building at least twice yesterday before the fire because there were reports of people being inside.
He says some people use the vacant buildings for shelter while others are simply there to create mischief.
Verrall says older and larger buildings, like the one that burned last night, are a huge challenge for firefighters.
“Like that one last night. And being built so close. way back when, there was no regulations in keeping distances (from other structures). A lot of times the older buildings, especially the bigger ones, are built so close to each other that it’s almost impossible to stop the fire, although last night the guys did a fantastic job.”
