Demolition looms for burned house
City of Kelowna official says 1871 home damaged by fire is unsafe and rebuilding it isn’t an option
The rebuilding of the fire-damaged Fleming House, one of Kelowna’s oldest homes, is unlikely, city officials say.
And while some materials inside the uninsured home might be salvaged, demolition of the heritage property could come sooner rather than later because of safety concerns.
“The damage is extensive for sure,” building services manager Martin Johansen said Wednesday. “I do not think rebuilding is an option at this time.
“My top concern is safety,” he said. “I would consider the house to be unsafe. A good windstorm like we had a couple weeks ago could certainly bring it down.”
The city-owned home, built in 1871 by pioneer Frederick Brent, caught fire on Monday evening. Located along Mill Creek just west of Dilworth Drive, the house and two adjacent buildings are often the site of encampments set up by homeless people.
None of the three properties is covered by insurance. Some buildings, because of their age or distance from a fire hydrant, are simply uninsurable, Johansen said.
In other cases, the premiums demanded by an insurance provider are so high that the city decides the building isn’t worth covering, he said.
The three buildings were moved onto the site in 2002 in the expectation they might eventually be renovated and opened for public or commercial use. But that has not happened, and the city’s attempts to interest a developer in the adaptive reuse of the structures have drawn no interest.
Brent used heavy square timbers in the construction of the house, and Don Digby, a heritage conservationist who has examined the fire damage, has suggested the wood might be in goodenough shape to warrant a rebuilt.
But Johansen suggested it’s more likely the timbers would be used, if possible, in another heritage themed building project. Other materials from the home might also be salvageable, but that depends on a thorough inspection of the site, which has yet to be done, Johansen said.
In the meantime, the city has no immediate plans to increase security at the site, Johansen said. The property is patrolled daily by Paladin security, repairs are regularly made to the fence that protects the buildings, and bylaw officers often break up the homeless encampments that spring up at the site.
“This is the first significant event like this that we’ve had at the site in almost 20 years,” Johansen said.