REGINA – Although major gains have been made over the past decade in reducing the number of house fires in Regina, 2015 is proving to be a setback.
In Regina overall, there have been 73 fires this year-to-date, compared to 52 last year during the same period. In February, crews responded to five house fires in four days in North Central.
“I’m kind of paranoid now.”
A suspicious fire Friday on Rae Street is again causing concern for some residents. A dozen people, including seven kids under the age of 11, are homeless after a blaze destroyed two homes.
“They just grabbed what they had on their backs and got out,” said Tammie Lagimodiere, the fire victim’s sister-in-law.
Lagimodiere has been collecting donations for her relatives: “They’re so overwhelmed. They couldn’t believe it when they walked in yesterday and went ‘wow’.”
Historically, North Central has been problemantic for Regina Fire, but information officers have been making strides in the area of prevention.
“Since 2000, we’ve seen a dramatic decrease in fires that are caused by children,” said Gerard Kay, Regina’s deputy fire chief. “There’s a variety of different causes. There’s not one identified cause that’s really outstripping the rest.”
One reason, could be many homes are of an older-style: “It just lends itself. The older something gets, the more worn it gets, the more chance it has of having an insulant,” said Kay.
The North Central Community Association wants restricted access to abandoned properties.
“So they are locked down and people can’t get inside. That’s a bit of an issue,” said Michael Parker, executive director of the association. “When you see a spike in fires, everybody is concerned.”
With the high number of house fires on the 1100 block of Rae Street alone, some people that live in the area said they are concerned about their safety.
“I’m kind of paranoid now,” said Gary Arcand, an area resident.
Arcand was woken up at 4:00 a.m. last summer to his neighbour’s house ablaze.
“With this house (the neighbour’s) burnt already, we’re just kind of worried about somebody coming here and just finishing it. If they finish burning this house. It’s going to catch our house.”
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