Grand Forks city hall to bill property owners for fire department’s time

Grand Forks city hall is billing the registered owners of a Granby Road property for services rendered by the city fire department.

Citing privacy reasons, Mayor Brian Taylor declined to name the individuals or specify their address. At $400, the bill will pay for two hours put in by Grand Forks Fire/Rescue (GFFR), at $200 per hour, Taylor explained.

The bill is attached to a bylaw ticket issued by the City of Grand Forks. The ticket alleges that the owners had an unpermitted fire at their property and that a fire on their property contained prohibited materials.

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Firefighters spent around two hours putting out a fire at 9385 Granby Rd on Aug. 7, where an on-scene investigation by Dep. Chief Rich Piché found that a wooden shed had burnt down under “suspicious” circumstances. Fibreglass insulation was found burning in the fire, Piché noted.

Grand Forks Mounties accompanied Piché and city staff to serve the bill and ticket on Thursday, Aug. 12, but Sgt. Darryl Peppler said one of the property owners couldn’t be found.

“Our members were there to keep the peace,” Peppler explained.

The City and GFFR served a similar fee for service on two Granby Road property owners last November, after the department put out a string of fires at a property next to 9385 Granby Rd., all of which were found to be suspicious. That bill was attached to a cease and desist letter by city hall, demanding a stop to unpermitted fires at 9175 Granby Rd.

@ltritsch1
laurie.tritschler@grandforksgazette.ca
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