By Sam Cooper – North Shore Outlook

As many as 411 residential buildings in the City of North Vancouver lack sprinkler protection; but it will be next to “impossible” for council to require owners of the older buildings to upgrade their outdated fire-safety systems, according to the city’s mayor and fire chief.

The wide-spread lack of sprinklers in decades-old, low-rise wood frame buildings came to light following back-to-back blazes that spread in strikingly similar fashion in two separate buildings, killing three in an Upper Lonsdale apartment and injuring one, days later in a Lower Lonsdale apartment.

CNV Fire Chief Barrie Penman said Annetta Meester, 80, Rita Phillips, 78, and Ilse Wilhelmine Dragossy, 84, might have been saved last Tuesday if their 28-year-old apartment at 155 East 19th St. had sprinkler protection.

“The results could have been different,” Penman said. “You hate to say ‘yes or no’ (whether the three women would have lived) … (but) sprinklers do make a big difference.”

In the CNV modern buildings must be built with sprinkler systems, but fire-safety code was much less stringent decades ago, CNV Mayor Darrell Mussatto said.

Both Penman and Mussatto said the lack of sprinklers in about 400 older buildings is a serious concern, but hard to address.

“It’s extremely difficult if not impossible to mandate (owners to install sprinklers),” Mussatto said.

According to Penman, it would cost about $10,000 per suite to retrofit older buildings with sprinklers, with an estimated citywide price tag of about $40 million.

“In a perfect world we’d do it,” Penman said. “The cost and logistics are somewhat prohibitive.”

City planner Francis Caouette, in charge of bylaw enforcement, said the city has a standards of maintenance bylaw to enforce “all manner of safety systems,” but as it stands, the bylaw could not be employed to require sprinkler upgrades in older buildings.

“There would have to be legislative change.”

Penman noted that just as in last Tuesday’s fatal fire, Sunday’s Lower Lonsdale-area fire accelerated when flames in a lower unit “vented” a balcony barbecue propane tank, allowing flames to shoot rapidly to the third floor. An inspection of both buildings shows a near identical scene of three charred units stacked above each other.

Coun. Pam Bookham said she toured blocks surrounding both fire sites, and was alarmed at the number of propane barbecues on apartment balconies.

“The city may have to take the lead” and consider passing a bylaw banning balcony barbecues in rental apartments, as well as encourage strata councils to do the same, Bookham said. “(Safety) has got to be a top of the mind question for all of us,” Bookham said.

Bookham pointed out the conundrum North Vancouver is facing; the stock of 411 older buildings provide basically the only affordable housing and rental space left in the city, so even if the city could force owners to upgrade to sprinklers, a subsequent wave of replacement condominium re-development could be the result, which would price many current residents, especially seniors, out of the city.

“If we were to look at requiring (building owners to install sprinklers) the owners would simply say ‘I can’t take that cost on or pass it to renters,’” Bookham said.

Mussatto reiterated the importance of the city’s aging building stock.

“It’s critical (for affordability) we work with the owners and residents to maintain these buildings as long as possible.”

Bookham mused that one possible way to encourage owners to retrofit sprinklers would be offering tax advantages.

Mussatto said council and staff will work behind the scenes over the next month brainstorming ways to improve fire-safety in the city, without burning the bank.

He said planners have already suggested density-bonusing be granted to owners who want to add suites in exchange for sprinkler upgrades.

“I don’t want to rule out (any solution),” Mussatto said.

Both Mussatto and Penman said lower cost options such as increased fire-safety education and possible expansion of a free fire detector and installation program will be strongly considered.

Following the two serious fires in the past week there has been a palpable edginess among neighbours living in surrounding buildings sharing the same vulnerabilities as the blaze-charred apartments.

One resident, 73-year-old L.A. Petersen, was interviewed Monday while walking past the aftermath of the 120 East Fifth St. apartment fire.

Petersen owns a unit in a similarly constructed, older building on the same street. She said she had just installed a fire detector recently, and wasn’t even sure if her building has sprinklers.

Petersen said she hopes CNV council tackles new fire-safety measures in older buildings.

“Even if it costs a bit of money I don’t think we should be going up in flames.”

Penman said he understands residents are concerned.

“You can always be safer (but) these (older) buildings are not unsafe,” Penman reassured.

He said residents should make sure detectors are installed in correct locations, and residents should have regular fire-safety meetings, which fire prevention officers will attend if requested.

“As a group (residents) have to make sure they are as safe as possible.”

It’s a terribly hard way to learn a lesson, but improved fire-safety education seems to have already taken hold in the city.

Penman said that following wide-spread media reports of an indifferent response to fire detector alarms in the Upper Lonsdale fire, he noticed a much snappier response in Lower Lonsdale.

“People seemed to be aware of the bells this time.”

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