As many as two dozen people have been displaced after the Port Pub building was evacuated on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 after the discovery of “hazardous materials” on site.
The City of Port Alberni announced on Wednesday, May 29 that recent building inspections had led to “a concerning situation involving hazardous materials” at the Port Pub. A letter hanging up at the Port Pub clarifies that asbestos has been found in the building.
The discovery caught everyone by surprise, City of Port Alberni CAO Mike Fox said. City officials were assessing costs of remediating the building and conducted a “cursory” hazard assessment. “During that, (it was discovered) there were some ceilings that caved in and some drywall was hit. The drywall was taken away to be sampled,” he explained.
It was determined there was asbestos in the drywall. “When asbestos is found it’s considered airborne” and in this case a medium to high risk to health, he said. According to WorkSafeBC, if asbestos is found in a building the law requires employers to hire qualified abatement contractors to remove it.
“We had to remove our employees and contractors,” Fox said. A notice of hazardous materials was posted at the building Tuesday night by city officials, suggesting to residents they find alternative lodging “as soon as possible.”
On Wednesday the building was put under a fire order, which means there is a hazard of fire or danger to life and property. Because there is no working fire alarm nor sprinkler system in the building, tenants are being evacuated, Port Alberni Fire Department Chief Mike Owens said.
“The fire order stipulates that the people need to be out of the building until such a time as the owner employs a registered professional who is able to evaluate the current state of the building, take out necessary permits that might be required, remediate the building and have it signed back off by a registered professional,” Owens said. The work needs to satisfy the city’s planning and development department and building inspectors.
“At that point we would rescind the fire order.”
Owens said he understands the news that residents needed to vacate the premises immediately was “jarring,” but added “they’ve realized the seriousness of the situation” and residents were vacating the structure with their belongings as quickly as possible.
The city says it is currently coordinating with the province, BC Housing and local service providers to provide support and assistance to tenants affected by the evacuation of the building. In a statement emailed to the Alberni Valley News, a BC Housing spokesperson noted the building is privately-owned and not subsidized by BC Housing. The city is “leading efforts” to find housing for 25 people who were displaced; BC Housing is one of the supporting agencies.
“Availability of subsidized housing in Port Alberni is limited with demand exceeding supply,” the spokesperson noted. All displaced residents have been offered shelter spaces to remain in Port Alberni, and BC Housing has made rent supplements available to those seeking alternate accommodations in the private market.
“We understand the complexity of this situation and are working diligently to ensure the health and well-being of all individuals involved,” the city stated in a press release.
Outreach workers and other service providers were on scene Wednesday to assist residents.
Sam Sattar, manager of the Alberni-Clayoquot branch of the BC SPCA, waited nearby with two employees and the SPCA van. “We’re here today just to help support any of the members that are living in the building with their animals for some temporary housing solutions until they get back on their feet again,” Sattar said. The SPCA, which has been busy with kitten and puppy season, moved some of its animals to other shelters in anticipation of pets from the Port Pub.
“We’re looking for fosters right now here locally. We’ve also reached out to other centres as well on the Island to see if there’s any emergency spaces that we can help with as well.”
Salvation Army representatives were also on site with a truck to help residents move their belongings to temporary storage. City of Port Alberni CAO Mike Fox said BC Housing was paying for storage, and the city was helping to facilitate the move. He said the city will continue to provide garbage service to the site as needed.
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“It’s a really difficult situation,” Fox said. “It’s complex. This (type of) decision is never made lightly.”
The city has been working with BC Housing for several months in anticipation of such a scenario, he said, but the abrupt need to evacuate the building was something “nobody saw coming.”
The owner of the Port Pub was issued a remedial action order back in January, but after he failed to clean up his property the city moved to proceed with repairs at the owner’s expense. In February, with both the fire alarm and sprinkler system disabled and the owner unwilling to communicate with city officials or comply with the fire order, the city hired a security company to provide third-party fire watch “with the intent of recouping those costs,” Owens said.
“Council has put about $200,000 into this private building to make sure this (displacement) didn’t happen, and now it’s happened,” Fox said. The property owner also has $40,000 in unpaid fines on the building.
If the fines and the cost of remediating the building are not paid, they will be added to taxes owing on the property, with the possibility of the property being put into a tax sale. This is the only recourse the city has in dealing with the property, Fox added.
A full report on the situation as well as next steps will be brought to the next city council meeting, he said.
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