Fire in Converted Garage
Prince George, B.C. – Fire in a Milburn Avenue suite has caused about $50,000 damage.
Prince George Fire Rescue responded to a call in the 1300 block of Milburn over the lunchhour today. Crews from 3 firehalls, attended the scene where smoke was billowing from an attached garage that had been converted into a suite.
The fire was quickly knocked down. Crews remained on scene for nearly three hours to ensure all hotspots had been extinguished.
There were 2 people home at the time both got out safely. The two, and a neighbour who tried to put out the flames before fire crews arrived, were all checked by BC ambulance staff, one person was sent to hospital to be checked for minor smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but the fire is not considered suspicious.
Comments
One wonders, of course, whether this was an illegal suite built without a building permit, proper windows, plumbing, electical connection, etc.
Probably was in better condition than a Bangladeshi garment factory.
Makes me wonder how much the guy who owns the house needed the extra money from rent, and how hard up a tenant would have be to live in a garage, converted or not.
In this town, this kind of arrangement is probably more common than you think.
If I see the by-law people at Tim’s I might mention it. If I remember.
When you see the by-law people. Ask them how single family homes get built with 8 toilets and 3 kitchens….. IMO the majority of suites are well thought out, and completed shortly after the occupancy permit is issued.
There seems to be a somewhat variable definition of just what constitutes a ‘single family’ in a country that embraces ‘multi-culturalism’. 8 toilets, you say? Wonder how long a 42nd cousin twice removed has to hold it before he gets his turn?
I hope the home owner was carrying proper insurance. We have a rental suite above our garage and I make sure our insurance covers multi family with two kitchens just for this very reason. If our suite catches on fire I don’t want any loop holes for the insurance company. Tenants are responsibe for their own contents.
I am a friend of the home owner and Luckily she did have proper insurance for her legal suite and is covered. Unfortunately for the young lady who had just moved into the suite on June 1st did not have her own tenant insurance, And has lost everything. Fortunately no one was injured.
The Prince George zoning bylaw does not use the term family in defining a zoning district for purposes of restricting density of single residential development. They use âhouseholdâ which is defined as follows:
Household: means
a) a person;
b) two or more persons related by blood, marriage, common law relationship, or adoption, together with not more than two persons unrelated to such persons; or
c) a group of not more than 6 persons who are not related by blood, marriage, common law relationship or adoption; all living together in a dwelling, comprising a single housekeeping group and using cooking facilities shared in common. Unrelated persons may include owners, renters, tenants, boarders, paid domestic servants, or foster children.
Then they use the term household in the definition of dwelling:
Dwelling: accommodation providing sleeping, washrooms, and a kitchen intended for domestic use, and used or intended to be used permanently or semi-permanently for a HOUSEHOLD. A dwelling does not include more than one room that, due to its design, plumbing, equipment, and furnishings, may be used as a kitchen (this does not preclude a kitchen in a secondary suite).
Since density is the important matter. One of the ways some communities restrict it is not by counting people, but by counting cars. Thus, some zoning bylaws have gone to restricting cars to 4 per single house in some districts as an example.
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