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Flames force out residents JENNIFER SMITH Morning Star Staff
Residents of a Mission Hill apartment building forced out of their home for Thanksgiving are still waiting to get back into their homes. A fire broke out at the Royal Apartments in the 3400 block of 21st Avenue Monday at approximately 4 a.m. “I was up, watching TV at the time,” said James Brindley, who lives in one of the approximately 17 units and returned Tuesday to check on his cats who have been in hiding from all the commotion. “I looked out the kitchen window and saw the fire truck and smoke.” The fire started in a storage area in a crawlspace, but was quickly contained by firefighters. The units were not damaged by fire but Brindley says the smell of smoke is still evident throughout the building. “It’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be,” he said of the fire damage, as some neighbours reported seeing huge flames. Vernon deputy fire chief Lawrie Skolrood adds: “It was fairly minor relative to what it could have been.” Approximately seven tenants of the building are being housed by Emergency Social Services while the owner works with a restoration company and insurance investigators to
JENNIFER SMITH/MORNING STAR
Deputy fire chief Lawrie Skolrood looks over the charred items from a storage area, piled up after a fire broke out at the back of an apartment complex in the Mission Hill area early Monday morning. Visit www.vernonmorningstar.com for video footage. get them back in to their homes. A cause of the fire may never be known as fire investigators could not pinpoint a source in a pile of charred items pulled from the storage area. Monday’s apartment fire was followed by another fire later in the evening.
A small blaze was started from a clothes dryer in a home in the 4300 block of 20th Street Monday at approximately 11:30 p.m. “It was a small fire but there was extensive smoke damage to the living area,” said deputy fire chief Jack Blair. A fire was also sparked from a fireplace in
a condo Friday morning in the 4000 block of 24th Avenue. “A box that had been left in front of the gas fireplace had caught on fire,” said Blair. “Fortunately the smoke alarm alerted everybody and the owner was able to douse it with some water.”
Bicycles stolen, then used in other crimes Some Vernon criminals are going green. Vernon RCMP are investigating an unusual rash of bicycle thefts on the weekend, and those responsible are believed to be using the bikes to commit more crime. “Sunday and Monday, police were kept busy responding to several calls
of reported thefts that had occurred overnight,” said Cpl. Gerry Kovacs. “In the majority of cases, these thefts occurred from motor vehicles that had been left unlocked with valuables and money left inside, and it seems their mode of transport favours the bicycle, many of which we believe were stolen. It makes them hard to catch when they’re on bikes.”
Kovacs said a suspect would take a bike, ride it to one part of town, go through some unlocked vehicles and take money or valuables. They would then ditch that bike and take another one, riding to a different part of town and starting the whole process over. “All of the crimes this weekend were crimes of opportunity,” said Kovacs. “The bikes were left unlocked
and they just helped themselves to cars that were left unlocked.” The thefts happened in various parts of the community. Police are again reminding everyone to lock up bikes, keep valuables hidden or at least taken out of vehicles, and make sure vehicles and storage sheds are locked. “You can’t leave anything
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in a car,” said Kovacs. “If they see a loonie, they’re going to take it. It’s that simple.” Also causing concern for RCMP is the fact that several high-end, or high-value, bikes were stolen. Kovacs suggests owners of such bikes take extra precaution in securing them. “Make them identifiable for us somehow,” he said. “Record serial numbers or engrave your driver’s licence
number on the front of the bike.” If a bike of any type is stolen, make a report to RCMP by calling 250-545-7171. “If we find it, there’s a chance we can marry up the bike with its owner,” said Kovacs. “We always end up with bikes in our custody because we haven’t found the owners. And, if you’re a victim, let us know.”
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