While relieved a fire in the bin behind him KelownaBC, the furniture store didn’t spread, it’s just the latest fire Gaeten Benoit says he’s had to fight.
“I put out two fires last year,” said Benoit, who owns Treehouse Interiors on Windsor Road off Spall Road.
Sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning, a fire broke out behind the furniture store, flames damaging a cardboard recycling bin next to the building.
“It was full of cardboard, which could have caused the flames to grow and touch the roofline,” Benoit said.
Next door at Savoy Equipment, the blaze also raised serious concerns.
“Because we service lawn and garden equipment, we have fuel on the premises,” said David Turner, owner of Savoy Equipment. “If the fire ever got to the wrong place … then of course it could be, I don’t want to use the word catastrophic, but it could be significant.”
Two years ago, a car dealership in the same area was destroyed after a fire broke out outside.
“We rely on the store. Something like that is going to catch fire, it’s going to have a big impact,” Benoit said.
Benoit said he has to do daily checks of the property for any kind of vandalism along with regular cleaning outside.
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“We have a lot of … like a lot, sometimes a homeless camp in the back, people cutting the fence or starting fires,” he said.
Benoit said he has already spent thousands of dollars on protective measures, and the costs are adding up, amid an already tough economic climate.
While hiring a private security company has occurred to him, he says, the principle of doing so does not hold up well.
“Because at the end of the day, businesses pay property taxes and property taxes provide those services,” Benoit said. “To me it’s like taking the responsibility off the city, and I’d rather my tax, my property tax, go a little higher and get better services than go private.”
While he said the city’s new grant program, which provides $3,000 to offset security costs, is a good thing, it doesn’t always go far enough.
“When you have 22,000 square feet, you need quite a bit more,” Benoit said.
While no one from the city was available to respond to concerns, in an email to Global News, a spokesperson stated that its community safety department is already working in the area.
Benoit acknowledged the city is trying to do what it can in its limited capacity and said changes are needed in the court system.
“We’re teaching our kids that actions have consequences, but then you see you see people out there committing crimes all the time and there are no real consequences,” Benoit said. “I think the main problem here is the justice system.”
Turner added that even more support services are needed to tackle the social disruption affecting businesses.
“I think it starts with mental health issues and addiction issues and we have nowhere to send these people,” Turner said.
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