Authorities evacuate residents from hazardous Enderby boarding complex
ENDERBY – Eleven people, including as many as four children, have been displaced after authorities issued a do not occupy order on the building.
Kevin Alstad, local assistant to the Fire Commissioner for the City of Enderby, described the building as “a hazard requiring the immediate removal of the occupants for their own safety.”
In conjunction with the Regional District of the North Okanagan Building Inspector, an Order to Evacuate and a Do Not Occupy order were posted for the boarding portion of the building at 509 Mill Ave.
During a joint fire and building inspection of the property, following complaints of a boarding use occurring in contravention of the City of Enderby’s zoning bylaw, unsafe conditions were discovered. These conditions placed occupants – some of whom are very vulnerable – in significant danger, according to a release from the City of Enderby.
City of Enderby Chief Administrative Officer Tate Bengtson said the decision was difficult, but necessary.
“It involved weighing a potential loss of life due to unsafe conditions against displacing people from their home. The risk of a loss of life was our overriding concern. However, we worked very hard to ensure that an interagency social support team was available on-site to help the occupants transition into safe living conditions,” Bengston said.
The City of Enderby is working with the Enderby and District Community Resource Centre, the Ministry of Children and Families and Interior Health to ensure the displaced occupants have access to social support to help transition them into safe living conditions. Other organizations were also brought in, including the Red Cross and Salvation Army.
Authorities say the boarding portion of the building has no fire separation between any of the rooms, between the rooms and the hallway corridor, or between the sleeping area and the retail use occurring at the front of the building. There are no windows to provide a means of escape if a fire were to occur and there is no fire alarm system and no smoke alarms in the sleeping rooms. Batteries were removed from the smoke alarms that were in place. Combustible materials were piled inside of the building. Roof leakage and mould growth were observed. The ceiling of the basement and crawl space had no fire protective finish. Ceiling tiles had been removed so that additional combustible materials could be stored in ceiling spaces. Various ignition sources were observed on the premises. The conditions in the premises were in an overall unsanitary state, according to the city.
During the inspection of the basement, a strong chemical odour was also detected. The Vernon Fire Rescue Hazardous Materials Response Team was brought in to investigate while the evacuation of the premises was occurring. Subsequent to the Hazardous Materials Response Team’s investigation, the RCMP have taken control of the scene.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
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31 responses
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yes I have been in the store part…….there was a faint smell of gosh knows what. and what the heck everyone wants to call him the blind man.he has a name but I think using ‘the blind man ‘ makes the locals say ‘ poor guyhe is blind.shouldn’tBen have a sidekick to keep up what Ben can’t see?
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Ben Fulton also ben I paid the rent that morning and him telling news and newspapers no one got the welfare check he liied through his teeth I paid my rent that morning in cash in front of his sister and chris who both lived there also.
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Celia Hodgins hi this is marys sister and I had no money to move out of the slum lords place and another thing it was not her fault mental asked me to go to vernon and I chose there to get away from gypsy bazaar and the slum lord.
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mary get your head out of your ass no one payed rent for march ben does not have anyone’s money that was not due to him! quit posting lies please.
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Mary Lewis jeannie was behind on her rent she is terrible with her money and ben was helping her get on track and caught up the rent she payed was for feb not march!
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Celia Hodgins And for the record Celia, I’m not to be clumped into a category of disabled and victimized. I can speak for myself quite clearly. And make my own choices with proper discernment and judgement. And you are right, and I do not mean to tute my own horn, but I am not stupid.I did not go to the fire depot because there was no fire hazard. I’ve grown up around fire pits, have a sacred respect for fire, and even WALKED on fire before in a shamanistic setting.I just moved here last September, and all I have seen since I got here has been constant improvement, clearing out clutter, organizing the spaces, more cleanliness…. and I can say this because I did a lot of that work myself.If that is not first hand knowledge….I’m sure you are a great person, and that you mean well, but your words are also banishing and insulting to me, who was happy to be a part of the Gypsy Bazaar.That place literally saved my life while I was a depressed mess facing my own mothers death.Just though you might like to know so you can refine your statements to reflect the truth of the matter.
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Robert Blackie – So you want to stick a BLIND man in jail do ya? A blind man who saved my life and gave his life to providing for the well being of other within an EXTREMELY limited capacity due to being BLIND?hmm….This thread is based on a grave misunderstanding. I too am a tenant, and I had paid up to the end of this month. I have NOT paid for the month of March, as from what I discovered myself Wednesday morning, ALL of our checks were blocked before we even got to figure out what what going on. The authorities obviously had planned this whole event enough to notify social assistance, RCMP, media outlets and the social workers well ahead of time, yet they DID NOT notify any of us, until the moment it happened.I was working in the store wednesday morning, was descended upon by a posse of “authorities” and issued an immediate order to evacuate from what, in my opinion, was a very bogus reason. They were such passive aggressive cowards in the matter that they had the balls to ask me to address the other tenants, and march around the premises doing their job for them. Ben and I were both left stranded on the street, as I was the only one who was there to help him, cause, oh I dunno.. he is BLIND! The cops were nice enough to offer us a holding cell at the local DP upon hearing our discomfort at their endorsement of the homeless shelter. If it was not for the kind folks down at the soup kitchen, both of us may have ended up sleeping under the bridge without any food or money, as by the end of the event, the “authorities” were growing weary and aggressive because they might have to suffer being late for dinner. I apologized repeatedly for any trauma we may have caused them in doing so… (sarcasm, come on in).It’s time to get our facts straight folks, before you make enemies out of friends here. Thank you for your concerns, i”m happy to answer any other questions you have concerning the Gypsy Bazaar, and how it was actually treated. A first hand account of those who were there usually has a way of clearing out the bullshit..
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Anita Michelle Lautsch There was no remainder of rent. This thread is based on a grave misunderstanding. I too am a tenent, and I had paid up to the end of this month. I have NOT paid for the month of March, as from what I discovered myself Wednesday morning, ALL of our checks were blocked before we even got to figure out what what going on. The authorities obviously had planned this whole event enough to notify social assistance and the workers well ahead of time, yet they DID NOT notify any of us, until the moment I was working in the store wednesday morning, and issued an immediate order to evacuate from what, in my opinion, was a very bogus reason.It’s time to get our facts straight folks, before you make enemies out of friends here. Thank you for your concerns, i”m happy to answer any other questions you have concerning the Gypsy Bazaar, and how it was actually treated. I first hand account usually has a way of clearing out the bullshit.
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Hi there folks! My name is Andrew Harvey. In September I moved to Enderby from my hometown of Nelson, BC, as a classic example of “the starving artist” I was and still am going through some very difficult times facing my mothers potential death, and the only place that felt welcoming enough during this state of depression was the Gypsy Bazaar.I was invited to stay there for the lowest rental price I could find ANYWHERE, as it was tailored specifically to the needs of individuals on income assistance. I had friends here, I felt safe and I felt like I was given the genuine attention and care that anyone who falls from grace should.The Gypsy Bazaar is unusual to anyone who may take it at face value, that much is certain, as when I arrived, I was as much in shock as anyone else would be. Walking down the hallway, the walls are marked with the most thought provoking, uplifting and mind expanding phrases and imagery, that one could not help but feel inspired and infused into this temple of awareness, sharing, caring and healing…. all tied together through beautiful artistic expression spanning the entirety of the space.I had had dreams of waking through such a place, and with all due respect, living here has been a dream come true for a person like me.I am 29 years old, musician on 5 instruments, graphic designer, leather crafter and social net-worker. I’ve recently starred in an independent film out of Nelson, BC that just won an award in the top of our category for the Canadian Film Festival. I’ve worked as a strong willed and independent artist of many kinds for my entire life, and the Gypsy Bazaar was a place that in my heart, I could finally call a home.We all shared food together, we all made decisions together, we all shared the household chores and duties together. We were creating a micro community of interdependent support for individuals who had lost most, if not all of our faith in the status quo “Pay to Play” philosophy of our economic paradigm, where only those with money matter. We were all poor, however, the social experience and the lessons we shared made us feel as if we lived as kings.This was a quality of social support that you cannot find or pay for anywhere else folks. A true spirit of humanitarianism, hosted by a BLIND man, named Ben. Ben is the host and property / business manager for the Gypsy Bazaar. He too lives on a less than decent social assistance income. On the front of the building there is a store front that he manages, nearly on his own, filled with local native art, uncommon trinkets and jewels from far and wide, and many local health and wellness products from other good members of the community.On most days we had members of the community come to visit us on their day off, or to enjoy lengthy conversations and share dreams over bottomless cups of coffee. Many times when people needed an emergency place to stay, our doors were open, and our home was yours for so long as you truly needed it.Ben covered many of our common expenses like toilet paper, light bulbs, dish soap and cleaning accessories, as all of us are on a VERY limited income. Ben often sacrificed his own level of comfort and financial freedom to make our lives easier, and to fill the holes where our benevolent government would not.I was given my own private room that well exceeded my standards, for $375 – ALL inclusive. That covered utilities, wifi and phone, and all the other perks that Ben could offer.In our basement, we were working on making Kambucca tea, which you may have seen is growing quite popular as a perfectly legal cultured drink with amazing health benefits, and can found available for purchase in most retail outlets nowadays by a variety of suppliers.If you have any questions for me, or if you wish to hear the real story and testimony of those who lived here at the Gypsy Bazaar, and about how we were invaded by city officials, RCMP and social workers like a pack of “sympathetic” thugs with a misplaced sense of pride, offered the chance to “voluntarily comply” to their “assistance” given NO notice when ample time was had to do so, and then given less than 6 hours to pack and prepare alternative accommodations, then forced from our homes by police adhering to executive orders and social workers complaining about how inconvenient it was to work on their day off, and offered both Ben and I holding cells at the local DP for the night when the homeless shelter they “suggested” sounded less that appealing to us.And NOW we are being accused of being a major drug lab and slandered beyond madness in front of THOUSANDS of people online? Ok folks, let’s break this down together, shall we? then please bypass this bias information and lousy excuse for accurate news reporting, and come and talk to the folks who actually lived here… like me :)https://www.facebook.com/groups/122839891119897/805704622833417/?notif_t=group_activity”I don’t care what anyone says… there is a major difference to be experienced between a house and a HOME” ?.Come and speak to us if you are truly concerned or interested in knowing what is happening to those involved. You can actually talk to us. We are real people you know. Our minds are open to any guidance you got for us in dealing with authorities who spend thousands of your tax dollars on shady closed meetings and abuses of authority, causing us unimaginable stress, loss of valuable time and energy, damage to our private property, and the complete social instability occurring in our lives as a result of these people’s complete lack of consideration for us, or insight into the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.And in case you didn’t already figure it out, it’s YOUR move. Choose wisely. I personally will only feel satisfied if the people who made this decision looses their jobs so that others like me and those who helped me through may never have to suffer this kind of treatment, let alone sheer IGNORANCE, ever again in the town of Enderby, that despite this event, I’ve grown quite fond of.
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Lorna Richardcome on up and help out. and bring your wallet to help out, my brain cells are just fine,,,, its your mouth that has to be worked onnot knowing all the facts. bring up your picket signs…get people together to walk with you in front of city hall, I’ll even picket with you. since you threw the first stone ,
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sounds ok but this people are disabled” NOT STUPID ” anyone of themcould of went to the fire department…city hall…orany part of housing for the province and explaining that they are living in such a horrid place. and they want to live in Enderbybut staying there was hazard. This has been going on for the last 3 /4 years with the fire department demanding to clean but the building. They just tired of it and made steps to fix this problem, evicting was the only way. I live in Enderbyand I do have first hand knowledge.
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ooppssI live twoblocks from that building and sorryI do know what goes on and some of the tenants and as for trying to get your sisterbetter housing…shouldn’t take you a few years after seeing the room she lives in.
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Susan,,, youalso doesn’t no anything about the situation. so get yourbody down to Enderbyand tend to the problems regarding this mess.
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yesseems to be the landlord but obviously he didn’t see the drywall was so black from the mold was falling off the walls..and the leaking roof.
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I have already told Jeannie that I will pay back her damage deposit as I know she did not damage the place in any way.I weill also give here the 1/2 month of February that she paid for and I feel was stolen from her by people who wouldn’t listen to me.By the way, Jeannie is the only one asking for this at this time, and I’ve been told by 2 other tenants that they don’t feel as though I owe them anything and they are upset with the city more than anything.Maybe people should get the opinions of the people actually living there.
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We need agoverning party that actually is cognizant of what life is like for the majority of Canadians.Most Canadians are asleep to what is really happening.They are spoon fed propaganda by the new outlets oblivious to the social programming taking place.Wake up Canada!Our politicians are bought and sold they have been corrupted by greed.The news you hear is propaganda controlling your mind and getting you to think in a way that allows for their agenda.These people are all suffering from brain damage.They are sociopaths that only care about how much money they have in the bank.There insanity is revealed in the fact that they are incapable of realizing they are destroying the very thing that gives them life.They need to be committed and their brain damage treated.Proof below.You can choose to buy into the notion that we need poverty and the economy is not fixed or you can wake up and see that the people governing our land are sociopaths concerned about their own agenda and do not care about the citizens of Canada.Most Canadians do not even know the banking system is corrupt.As are politicians. All policies and procedures used in government agencies need to be completely revised.There is absolutely no reason that anyone in Canada should not have a bed to sleep in and the ability to buy food.http://pressfortruth.ca/top-stories/update-bank-canada-vs-comer/Oh Canada Movie – Our Bought And Sold Out Land – Full.http://youtu.be/UbACCGf6q-cBilderberg Group: The Secret Rulers of the World.http://youtu.be/HBypAFQ3ZCk
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Celia Hodgins You really need help…honesty!You should have your brain examined to see if your bran cells are working.
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Celia Hodgins You should really delete this. Your comment is so ignorant and uncalled for.
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It is true that they did NOT help people find places to stay.I asked the social workers to please help Jeannie find some place better than a womans shelter and was denied. This building was inspected every year, this year we were told there would be a letter outlining the upgrades needed.Instead we were summarily evicted.No one hadpaid rent for March, and I think it is beastly that they were forced onto the street 12 days before the end of the month with less than 6 hours notice.The authorities could have given notice to everyone and I think it is really horrible that they did not.
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… and who is this “he”? Perhaps the blind man, mentioned above? Is he perhaps as poor as his renters? Perhaps you have made too many assumptions, allowing you to be so judgemental. You do not know the situation. Why do you think it is ok to have such an opinion!
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Iam very sorry but you knew your sister was living there. why didn’t you try and help her out of this hole.,,, She did have an income so why did you allow her to continue to lay her headdown every night knowing it was a slum / fire hazard.,,, once again I am sorry but charity begins at home.
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its sad but true if you want to have a place for people to live and stay especially in a city core it has to be safe!
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I totally agree.Since these people HAD to leave, the remainder of their rent should be reimbursed to them.
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I know for a fact that a blind man was living there. The city of Enderby needs to give their heads a shake… theses are real people that deserve better…
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Use this building for fire practice then give the bill to the owner for the clean up!
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sounds like enderby (and surrounding area) could use a less-privatized low-income housing situation. or we could just, y’know, continue evicting people. and how much did it cost you to make these assessments? could you have say, installed these windows and smoke alarms instead?
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who owns this place? they need to go to the rental broad they should get back there money at least for what’s left of the month…So Sad.
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