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Thursday, June 27, 2013
Nanaimo News Bulletin 3
Fire hits Nanaimo home
I
oWNER NoT at house when blaze ignited Monday. By Chris Bush The News BulleTiN
CHRIS BUSH/THe NewS BUlleTIN
Firefighters rush equipment into a home on Rockridge Place to get at a fire that worked its way in to the building’s walls and floors Monday. The cause of the blaze was narrowed down to either a faulty sprinkler system control or the wiring supplying power to it. No one was injured.
Fire struck home Monday when a blaze broke out in a house in north Nanaimo. Nanaimo Fire Rescue was called out shortly after 11 a.m. when neighbours heard a noise and saw smoke coming from a home at 308 Rockridge Pl. in the Hammond Bay/ Oakridge area. Flame was showing and smoke billowing from the back of the house when firefighters arrived. “Stewart, our oldest son, heard some noise – they were sleeping in because they’re out of school – and all of a sudden they were running out of the house,” said Pamela Morrison, a neighbour living next door. “They called 911. I told the boys to run around and bang on the front door and side door to make sure no one was home.” The woman who owns the house is currently out of the province. A male tenant who lives in a downstairs suite was at work
when the fire broke out and there were no reported injuries. Morrison said at one point she and her family were worried that the fire next door could involve their home as well, but firefighters arrived quickly and knocked down the flames. “Thank goodness the boys called because I wouldn’t have even noticed,” Morrison said. “I was doing stuff on the other side of the house.” It took firefighters the better part of 30 minutes to douse the flames and root out hot spots in the building’s structure. Ennis Mond, Nanaimo Fire Rescue fire prevention officer, said the fire appears to have started in a garden sprinkler system control unit or the electrical wiring supplying power to it. The unit, located in the back wall of the home where the fire was first spotted by neighbours, had been set to water the garden on even-numbered days while the homeowner was out of town and would have activated for 10 minutes at about 5 a.m. the morning of the fire. “It was an electrical issue,” Mond said. “The burn patterns indicate it was where the sprinkler control unit used
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i told the boys to run around and bang on the front door and side door to make sure no one was home.
to be.” Mond said it was impossible to tell whether the fault lay with the control device or the wiring because the fire had completely destroyed both, leaving nothing that could be tested for faults. The fire then spread into the expanded foam insulation in the interior of the home’s foundation wall and worked its way up into the space between the floor joists between the ground and section floor of the home. “There is heavy smoke damage throughout the house and structural damage to the living room floor,” Mond said. The owner is insured, but Mond said the tenant of the downstairs suite was not. photos@nanaimobulletin.com
Nanaimo mother organizes vigil and walk to remember missing daughter
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breaks in the case. Police believe Lisa Marie met with foul play after she left a house party in the Cathers Lake area at about 3 a.m. June 30, 2002, with a man who drove an older model red Jaguar. The last anyone heard from her was when she phoned a friend at about 4:30 a.m. Police identified the car and the man Young left the party with. He is part of a police list of persons of interest in the case, but in spite of following up every lead, producing Crime Stoppers TV re-enactments and even conducting a full scale search with K-9 units based on information from a psychic, police have, so far, not been able to prove foul play or find
the missing woman’s remains. “The case is active and will remain active until such time it is determined what happened to Lisa Marie,” said Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman. “The vigil is important to not only her family and friends, but also to remind the public of her disappearance. “Someone out there knows something and we need to hear from them.” Anyone with information about what happened to Lisa Marie Young is asked to contact Nanaimo RCMP at 250-7542345 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers. com. photos@nanaimobulletin.com
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but some businesses and individuals are unwilling or unable to help by putting the posters in windows or passing along information about the missing person case or the vigils. “Sometimes it doesn’t seem to have an effect on people because nothing like that has ever happened in their lives – and thankfully not,” Joanne said. “You wouldn’t want anyone to go through that same anguish because it really is a living nightmare. Every year it’s a struggle to do this. It’s emotional, but I get through that. It’s not about me. It’s not for my husband. It’s about Lisa Marie and hopefully we find some answers one day.” Joanne said police are supportive, but have no reported
Pub:
A Nanaimo mother has been waiting 11 years for her daughter to come home or police to solve the case of her disappearance. Lisa Marie Young, who was 19 when she disappeared, has not been seen since she left a house party in Nanaimo the morning of June 30, 2002. In the inter vening years Joanne Young has fought to keep her daughter’s memory alive with walks, vigils and other public reminders. Sunday (June 30) starting at 11 a.m. at in the Lions Pavilion at Maffeo Sutton Park, people will once again gather for a walk followed by a candlelight vigil.
The walk will follow a route from the park, over the Pearson Bridge on Terminal Avenue and down Stewart Avenue before returning along the Waterfront Promenade to Maffeo Sutton Park for a noon candlelight vigil. About 50 supporters came out for last year’s walk and vigil, which was held at Christ Community Church. Joanne hopes for at least as big a turnout this year. “It’s not about whether anyone knew my daughter or not,” Joanne said. “It’s to promote awareness of being safe. You can walk for your own family.” Joanne has done a lot of walking on her own, putting up posters, promoting the vigil and trying to keep her daughter’s memory alive in the community,
3956 Victoria Ave.
By Chris Bush The News BulleTiN