Workers were due at the Coachman Apartments on Sparks St. on the Bench earlier this week to block access to the three-storey structure following an order issued Jan. 28 by City of Terrace fire chief Chad Cooper to have any remaining occupants leave the building due to a long list of safety and other violations.
The move, for now, ends occupancy of what had been ongoing decrepit and unsafe conditions at the building which first came to light after frozen water pipes burst throughout the structure during Christmas week 2022.
Lack of running water, black mould, many cases of disrepair and hazards caused the majority of people to move to accommodations found by themselves or by local agencies with the assistance B.C. Housing.
As of mid-June 2023, when B.C. Housing stopped paying for local hotel rooms, one tenant refused to leave and one who had left then returned.
The situation became complicated because the building’s owner had passed away in 2022, leaving no one immediately in charge of the estate and with the ability or authority to do something about its conditions.
“The city prefers the owner of the property, or an agent assigned, to take appropriate actions in relation to their property,” the city said Feb. 2. “We have limited authority and capacity to act without providing the owner with reasonable time.”
It wasn’t until July 2023 that an executor to the deceased owner’s estate, described as substantial, was appointed and that person didn’t come to Terrace to tour the building until August.
Although the city said it provided contact information for contractors, no action was taken through last fall and into this winter.
“With the recent increase in trespass at the building in January 2024, the situation declined to the point where the fire chief’s order was determined to be necessary to force the executor to either take action promptly or authorize the city to enforce the order requirements,” said the city.
A copy of a Jan. 29 letter from Cooper to a Mr. Brown outlines 10 identified violations beginning with non-functional smoke alarms, non-working fire alarms, damage to fire separations, missing or uncertified portable fire exitinguishers, open doors allowing unauthorized entry, damaged and poorly maintained exit doors, missing fire door signs, untested emergency lighting, accumulated combustible material and damaged electrical installations posing as a fire hazard.
“I must declare the building unfit for occupancy,” Cooper told Brown.
The order required the executor to evict anyone still there, to disconnect main building power, to remove material posing as a fire hazard and to block access to the structure.
The city said the executor agreed with the order and “supports the city’s actions to vacate and secure the building.
As of last week, of two remaining tenants, one had secured other housing and the other appeared to have found housing, the city said.
Leading up to the frozen water pipes in late December 2022, the city said the building was inspected annually.
“Prior to December 2022, Coachman Apartments underwent a comprehensive inspection by our fire department’s crews as a component of the department’s ongoing fire inspection program,” the city said.
“Any deficiencies identified during the regular fire safety inspections were documented and subsequently communicated to the building’s management/owner.
“It was expected that the building manager would take appropriate measuress to address and rectify those deficiencies promptly.”