Pubdate: Wed, 01 Jun 2005
Source: Surrey Now (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc., A Canwest Company
Contact:  http://www.thenownewspaper.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1462
Author: Brooke Larsen

'HERITAGE CRACK HOUSE' A MAGNET FOR FIREBUGS

Two Surrey residents are fed up after two weekend fires were set at a 
Whalley heritage building.

Firefighters were called to 13946 Fraser Hwy. on Saturday after reports of 
a small blaze at the old woodworking shop.

Squatters likely started the fire, said Surrey fire department battalion 
chief Jack Ingram.

Built in 1945, Roll's Carpenter Shop is listed at the City of Surrey's 
heritage registry website. The building is considered heritage because of 
its architecture, which shows "some influence of Modernism," according to 
the site.

"Surrey's the only city I know of that has a heritage crack house," said 
Colin Krienke, who lives just around the corner from the shop.

Krienke often sees squatters going in and out of the building and believes 
they go inside to use drugs. He's told his 11-year-old daughter to keep 
away from it, but his wife has to walk past it every day on her way to the 
SkyTrain.

"Even I'm a little freaked out walking by in the evenings," he said.

"If it's a heritage building, fix it up or else get rid of it. Right now 
it's a piece of junk."

Another small fire drew police to the shop Sunday after a 12-year-old and 
14-year-old went inside and tried to melt a Barbie doll, said Surrey RCMP 
spokesperson Marina Wilks.

"They didn't know they weren't supposed to be in there. The weren't trying 
to burn down the building," she said.

A Surrey RCMP officer put that fire out.

Two fires in one weekend is too many, said Sue Jansen, who lives across the 
street from the building.

"It's awful because it's been going of for so long," she said. "It's 
affecting the whole neighbourhood."

Both Krienke and Jansen say they're going to phone the city and ask them to 
do something about the building.

Ingram said the building was in a state of disrepair.

"It's a hazard for our crews to go inside it," he added.

Surrey city Coun. Judy Higginbotham says the city has already talked to the 
owner of the property about the squatters.

"This is why we don't like to have buildings sitting around empty," she said.

Higginbotham said the property changed hands two to three months ago and 
has been zoned for a condo development. One of the terms of the rezoning is 
that the carpenter's shop be preserved and refurbished.

"We're aware of the problem and it's going to be dealt with soon," 
Higginbotham added.
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