Vacant house fires continue to plague Winnipeg

Another summer, another stretch of homes up in flames.

Winnipeg’s mayor is now looking to take more stringent action to combat the problem of derelict and vacant homes.

Darrell Warren with the William Whyte Neighbourhood Association says there’s a crisis happening in his community after noticing the same home on Powers Street burn twice within a five-day period.

“I lived in the area for 63 years now and I just can’t believe what the area is turning into,” said Warren.

Kent Dueck with Inner City Youth Alive claims people in the neighbourhood have to live near murders and drug deals as stretches of homes are neglected.

“Now kids who have to walk to school, walk past this. What message do those kids take in from that?” asked Dueck.

“It’s three houses, but if we don’t attend to these issues, it has a ripple effect, and here’s where we are at.

“If bylaw doesn’t act on these ugly blights on our community, then we get this, we get a fire.”

Vacant home fires have continually been a problem in Winnipeg, with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responding to one early Friday morning in the 600 block of Logan Avenue.

Despite increasing fines, even billing owners of vacant homes for firefighting costs, Mayor Scott Gillingham says it’s time, in some cases, for the city to take the title ownership from some property owners without compensating them.

“We are at the place where some property owners are just chronically delinquent. They are not taking care of their property, they have several citations against them, several bylaw orders against them and yet to no effect,” said Gillingham.

WATCH: Only one firefighting invoice paid completely as more vacant homes burn in Winnipeg

But even for those who want to develop vacant homes, Dueck says they face a complex permitting process.

“If we are going to try to do something about it, it’s going to take us 10 years to get a permit to build a house, when we need housing in our city,” said Dueck.

The mayor says he has instructed city staff to reach a target of 8,000 development permits to be approved, to ramp up housing in Winnipeg.

“There’s such a need for housing across the city of Winnipeg right now, that we need all available properties that can be developed to be developed,” said Gillingham.