News
1. Fire department re-assigns cause of fatal Sackville fire
In a press release issued yesterday, the Halifax fire department is now saying that the March 3 fatal fire in Sackville was started by “smoking materials”:
Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency (HRFE) investigators have completed the investigation of the fatal house fire in Lower Sackville.
Investigators have concluded the fire started in the basement due to improper disposal of smoking materials. The fire then spread throughout the house, causing an electrical fault along its path.
The investigation also revealed all recent electrical work at the property was done appropriately and up to code.
Throughout the course of this investigation, HRFE utilized various experts from different fields to arrive at this conclusion.
“This is a horribly tragic incident, and our most sincere condolences go out to the family of those who died as a result of the fire,” said Chief Ken Stuebing.
Stuebing said there will be no charges and the cause is classified as accidental.
During a news briefing last week, Chief Stuebing highlighted the importance of working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
As of this morning, the fire has not yet been added to the department’s Fire Investigation Summary page.
The Monday after the fire, Stuebing said it was started by an electrical problem, reported Francis Campbell for the Chronicle Herald:
“Our fire investigators have concluded their work and the evidence points to an electrical fault as the cause,” Halifax Fire Chief Ken Stuebing said at a Monday afternoon briefing at the department’s office at Alderney Gate in Dartmouth.
Understandably, the CBC looked further into the “electrical fault” issue and zeroed in on landlord Clem Chisholm in an article published yesterday morning. I can’t now find the article on the CBC website, and it isn’t linked to in subsequent CBC articles, but the article about Chisholm was republished on the Yahoo News aggregator. I’m posting it in full here because I don’t like news stories disappearing:
A Lower Sackville, N.S., landlord who owns the building that was the scene of a fatal electrical fire March 3 says he sees “no reason” to do an inspection in nearby properties he owns where similar electrical work was done.
Clem Chisholm told CBC News that electrical work was done between September and December 2017 on eight properties he owns in the Lower Sackville neighbourhood, including the property at 34 Leaside Dr. where three members of the same family lost their lives.
Chisholm said the work involved replacing existing 100-amp electrical panels with 200-amp panels and having Nova Scotia Power run new wires from the street to the house.
Chisholm said he had a permit for the work. When asked whether his electrician had a licence, he responded:
“What do you think? I’m not going to answer that question, because it doesn’t need answering,” he said.
In a later statement by email, Chisholm wrote, “Before work commenced, a permit was obtained from Nova Scotia Power by a qualified electrician. All work that has been completed has been inspected by Nova Scotia Power.”
Over the weekend, CBC contacted Nova Scotia Power to attempt to confirm this. On Monday, the utility said it could not say whether an inspection was done or if a permit was issued for the work, because it is considered confidential customer information.
City urges inspection
Halifax Regional Fire still has an open investigation into the fatal fire, which it announced one week ago was caused by an electrical fault that was not suspicious in nature. Chisholm disputed this and said Halifax Regional Fire has told him the cause is “accidental and unclassified.”
At this point in the investigation, the city has no power to order an inspection of the other buildings’ electrical systems.
However, according to a Halifax Regional Fire spokesperson, deputy fire Chief Roy Hollett spoke to Chisholm by telephone on Thursday and urged him to get an independent electrician to do an inspection of the work in the other buildings as a precaution.
Investigators cannot yet say exactly where in the electrical system the fault happened, or the direct cause of the fault, said Halifax Regional Fire spokesperson Brendan Elliott.
However, the city has never veered from its assessment that the cause of the fatal fire came from somewhere within the electrical system of the duplex.
“In fact, we came out as early as we did because we were confident we knew what the cause of the fire was,” said Elliott on Friday evening.
On Friday afternoon, Chisholm emailed all his tenants and asked them to voluntarily turn off their main breakers and call Nova Scotia Power to request to be disconnected, for safety reasons.
CBC confirmed with two families that they received the email. They found it confusing and worrisome, but did not disconnect their power.
About three hours later, Chisholm emailed his tenants again and told them he had received new information from Halifax Regional Fire stating the cause of the fire at 34 Leaside was not electrical, and therefore they could reconnect their power.
The fire department denies telling him that.
Chisholm acknowledged he talked to the deputy fire chief Thursday, but told CBC he does not plan to get an electrician to do an inspection.
“If I had reason to suspect that there was a problem, yes, but we have no reason to suspect that there’s a problem,” he said.
Chisholm said when he’s told what the cause of the fire is, he will take “appropriate action.”
Chisholm called the reporting on the cause of the fire “media hype” and “less than accurate,” and said the media had misinterpreted the fire department’s findings. He wants Halifax Regional Fire to provide him with more information on the fire’s cause.
“What I wanted from Halifax Regional Fire was, OK, what caused the problem? Could it happen in another house? And what have we got to do to fix it? That information was not forthcoming,” said Chisholm.
‘I don’t know what more you think I should be doing’
He also cited a phone call from a Halifax Regional Fire investigator, but he declined to give their name.
“They’ve since called me back and categorically confirmed that they have not determined there to be an electrical problem. I don’t know what more you think I should be doing,” he said.
Yesterday afternoon, the fire department issued its release saying the fire was started by smoking materials.
The CBC then followed up with another article referencing the earlier fire department statements about electrical problems (but again, not linking to its earlier article):
Fire Chief Ken Stuebing said there will be no charges and it’s classified as an accidental fire. Last week, he told reporters fire investigators had concluded their work and found an electrical fault was the cause. Until the municipality issued a statement on Monday evening with the updated findings, fire officials continued to maintain that the electrical fault caused the fire.
Spokesperson Brendan Elliott said the municipality wasn’t backtracking and the investigation was always ongoing.
“When we came out with the information we had last week, it was to give the public the sense that first of all this wasn’t an arson, that there was a clear idea and evidence early on to show that there had been an electrical fault,” Elliott told CBC.
He said investigators worked with other agencies, including insurance investigators, and discovered what caused the electrical fault in another part of the basement.
“What we were able to determine is that the smoking materials were the igniter, ignition of the original fire, and what we saw when we did our initial investigation was an electrical fault.”
Elliott’s Monday evening release also said the investigation showed “all recent electrical work at the property was done appropriately and up to code.”
Clem Chisholm, the owner of the duplex on Leaside Drive, owns seven other properties in the area. He previously told CBC he had no reason to suspect there was a problem with the electrical work in his other units and did not plan to get an electrician to do an inspection. He also said the work done in his units was inspected properly.
Monday evening Chisholm declined to comment on the fire department’s findings.
I want to know how many lawyers were involved the last few days.
Brendan Elliott was an outstanding reporter at the old Daily News, and now, as government spokespeople go, he’s one of the very best. So this isn’t really faulting him — because I think he was put in an impossible position — but compare his statements from the now-scrubbed CBC article…
Investigators cannot yet say exactly where in the electrical system the fault happened, or the direct cause of the fault, said Halifax Regional Fire spokesperson Brendan Elliott.
However, the city has never veered from its assessment that the cause of the fatal fire came from somewhere within the electrical system of the duplex.
“In fact, we came out as early as we did because we were confident we knew what the cause of the fire was,” said Elliott on Friday evening.
… to his statement from yesterday:
Spokesperson Brendan Elliott said the municipality wasn’t backtracking and the investigation was always ongoing.
“When we came out with the information we had last week, it was to give the public the sense that first of all this wasn’t an arson, that there was a clear idea and evidence early on to show that there had been an electrical fault,” Elliott told CBC.
He said investigators worked with other agencies, including insurance investigators, and discovered what caused the electrical fault in another part of the basement.
“What we were able to determine is that the smoking materials were the igniter, ignition of the original fire, and what we saw when we did our initial investigation was an electrical fault.”
Take from that what you will.
2. Examineradio 149
This week, journalist Linda Pannozzo discusses her latest investigation into the Northern Pulp mill.
Plus, we discuss the convention centre, racism reports at schools, and Abdoul Abdi.
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(Direct download)
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(Subscribe via iTunes)
3. Crackdown on pot shops
In the wake of continued arrests at cannabis stores, Chronicle Herald reporter John McPhee spoke with criminologist Michael Boudreau:
Criminologist Michael Boudreau said the continued crackdown on storefront pot shops makes no sense.
“I mean, one of the reasons why some of the police forces are tacitly on board with the legalization of cannabis, small amounts to 30 grams, is because it’s been over the years a tremendous waste of their resources,” Boudreau said in an interview Monday from St. Thomas University in Fredericton, where he’s chairman of its criminology department.
“Continuing to target the pot shops, the privately run shops, and it’s happening in Nova Scotia, in New Brunswick and other provinces, it’s just foolhardy.
“These shops even at the best of times were not part of the so-called black market.
“The police would have us believe in some of these cases these stores were the fronts for the Hells Angels or what have you.
“The police have provided very little evidence to support that and in many cases these shops were selling more medicinal marijuana as opposed to recreational marijuana.”
4. Time change
The Atlantica Party, which now that Jonathan Dean has left consists of six dudes, has boldly come out against the time change.
5. Alderney Gate Pedway
The city this morning issued a tender offer for the “revitalization” of the pedway over the railroad tracks at Alderney Landing. Judging from the stylized photo that accompanies the drawings for the project, the successful bidder will add seating into the pedway, and then populate it with see-through white people.
6. Justin Brake
“A [Newfoundland and Labrador] provincial court judge has ruled criminal charges against reporter Justin Brake will go ahead,” reports Jacob Barker for the CBC:
Brake is facing charges of mischief and disobeying a court order after he entered the Muskrat Falls hydroelectic project along with protesters in October of 2016. At the time, he worked for theindependent.ca.
Brake is also facing civil contempt proceedings in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court based on the same set of facts.
His lawyer Geoff Budden asked that the court stay the criminal proceedings. But Judge Wynne Anne Trahey did not agree.
“There is nothing to preclude civil contempt and criminal contempt actions from proceeding simultaneously,” Trahey said in her ruling Monday.
“Civil contempt proceedings are intended to resolve issues between competing parties. Criminal matters are intended to address matters of public interest.”
Brake’s next date in provincial court is set for April 24.
Brake is now working for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, and is based out of Halifax.
7. Dog fight
Everyone likes a good dog fight story.
8. Weather
It’s been a relatively easy winter, so maybe we have built-up unrealized expectations, but there sure does seem to be a lot of hype for the weather system that’s coming through today. The Weather Network, which I find more reliable for Halifax-specific forecasts than Environment Canada, puts the total snow expected in Halifax at less than a mere seven centimetres, then turning to rain. But it’ll all be accompanied by strong winds, and Tufts Cove will blow over or something, I guess.
Hardly seems worth getting worked up about, but what do I know? Charge your devices and get Chinese food.
Government
City
Tuesday
No public meetings.
Wednesday
Vincent Coleman Dedication Ceremony (Wednesday, 10:30am, Alderney Ferry Terminal) — the newest ferry will be celebrated.
Regional Watersheds Advisory Board (Wednesday, 5pm, HEMDCC Large Meeting Space, Alderney Gate) — Bob Rutherford, from the Oathill Lake Conservation Society, will talk about the society’s work.
Province
No public meetings this week.
On campus
Dalhousie
Tuesday
Thesis Defence, Pathology (Tuesday, 9:30am, Room 3107, Mona Campbell Building) — PhD candidate Krysta Coyle will defend her thesis, “Profiling Retinoid Signaling in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Towards Precision Applications.”
Security-Performance Trade-offs (Tuesday, 11:30am, Computer Science Auditorium, Goldberg Building) — Stefanie Roos from the University of Waterloo will speak on “Mediating Tugs of War: Security-Performance Trade-offs in Embedding-based Routing Protocols.”
Long Colimits of Topological Algebras (Tuesday, 2:30pm, Room 319, Chase Building) — Gabor Lukacs will speak.
Fair Pricing for Journals: Public Consultation (Tuesday, 4:15pm, Room B229, B Building, Sexton Campus) — from the event listing:
The “big deal” as a model for purchasing scholarly journals is no longer sustainable for mid-sized universities like Dalhousie. The five largest bundles we subscribe to have increased in cost by 78% since 2010. One bundle costs $850,000. In another bundle, fewer than 40% of the titles are being used by Dalhousie researchers, scholars and students. We subscribe to dozens of bundles. This year, we are examining over 7,000 titles in six bundles that are up for renewal. We want your input. Attend a public consultation and select which journals are important to you at: https://fairprice.library.dal.ca
Portrait of Jason (Tuesday, Room 406, Dalhousie Arts Centre) — screening of Shirley Clarke’s 1967 film.
Catalonia’s Cinema (Tuesday, 7pm, Halifax Central Library) — Jerry White will talk about “Homage to Catalonia’s Cinema: Understanding Spain’s Most Restless Region.”
Wednesday
The Chosen, by Chaim Potok (Wednesday, 9am, Room 25, Banting Building, Agricultural Campus) — Rabbi Ellis talks about the book.
Canada and the World, and Judaism: North America and the Creation of the State of Israel, 70 Years Later (Wednesday, 10am, Room 138, Cox Institute, Agricultural Campus) — Rabbi David Ellis will speak.
Help Design the Bi-Centennial Commons (Wednesday, 10:30am, Atrium, Killam Library) — info here.
Guitar Recital (Wednesday, 11:45am, Room 406, Dalhousie Arts Centre) — students of Scott Macmillan, Doug Reach, and Jeff Torbert will perform.
Fair Pricing for Journals: Public Consultation (Wednesday, 12pm, Room C264, Community Health and Education Building, Sexton Campus) — info here.
King’s
Wednesday
Leonard Cohen: A Listening Party (Wednesday, 7:30pm, G. Peter Wilson Room, New Academic Building) — a listening session of his last album, You Want It Darker, and then Kait Pinder will talk about it.
In the harbour
1am: Silver Millie, oil tanker, arrives at Imperial Oil from Rotterdam
3am: Nolhanava, ro-ro cargo, arrives at anchorage from Saint-Pierre
6am: Bishu Highway, car carrier, arrives at Autoport from Emden, Germany
7:20am: BBC Gagnes, cargo ship, arrives at Pier 27 from Baie Comeau, Quebec
9:30am: YM Express, container ship, arrives at Fairview Cove from New York
11:45am: Bishu Highway, car carrier, sails from Autoport for sea
Noon: Roald Amundsen, Norwegian military ops ship, sails from Dockyard for sea
Noon: Titania, car carrier, arrives at Pier 9 from Southampton, England
1pm: BBC Gagnes, cargo ship, sails from Pier 27 for sea
3pm: CSL Tacoma, bulker, sails from National Gypsum for sea
4pm: Hollandia, general cargo, sails from Pier 31 for sea
Footnotes
Tuesdays is hard.
The fire shemozzle and subsequent backtracking is one of many reasons why people don’t trust their own government. Indeed how many lawyers were involved in this shit show?
The Justin Brake thing is bullshit.
Trespassing is trespassing and a person identifying as a freelance reporter or journalist has no more right to trespass than you or I.
When it comes to the continued arrests at cannabis stores, until existing laws are either repealed or changed, the police are obligated to carry out their duties. If the police have been given “official” discretion to ignore their duty unto the law, I have not seen any legislation to support this concept. So their actions may appears “foolhardy” given forecasted changes for cannabis laws; but forecasts are not reality until the ink is dry at the bottom of the legislation.
i hope someone will find out what is happening with Cindy Day and the new weather forecasting / reporting service in the C-H.
Today was the first day of a new regime and if this is what we have to expect I am appalled! Unreadable North American map. no NS local forecasts and temps. No world or Canadian temps. except those found on the N.American map!
The weather PAGE should be filled with almanac type data as well as coverage of how we are doing against long term averages, etc. Just look at any decent US newspaper – Boston or New York for example.
ICT
Oddly enough, the Norwegian weather service, https://www.yr.no/place/Canada/, provides clear and reliable Nova Scotia forecasts, free from the irresponsible exaggeration that renders forecasts from Environment Canada, the Weather Network, the CBC, and CTV all but useless.
As of 11:47 am Tuesday, NR.no forecasts sleet until 6 p.m. in Halifax, followed by heavy rain until midnight, with rain (not heavy) continuing until noon Wednesday. Winds of 15 m/s (54 kph) overnight.
Note the blissful absence of pseudo data in the form of “wind chill,” “peak gusts,” warnings, alerts, special statements, and all the other horseshit EC uses to frighten us about normal weather conditions.
Sorry. The second paragraph should read “YR.no.”
Surprised you find The Weather Network more accurate the Environment Canada. My observations are the direct opposite. Anyway, I’m sure it’ll be a storm but why that is worth getting worked up over, I agree is silly.
Why “improper disposal of smoking materials.” Why not plain English? A lit cigarette in the garbage?
I completely agree. It’s so frustrating. There is absolutely nothing to be gained by this. If it was caused by smoking in bed, or a butt in a garbage can, it would be helpful for others who may be doing the same thing to know. As it stands the statement carries no useful information.
That Atlantica Party is hilarious—“…we’re willing to bet that the DST switchover disturbed you in some way, and that you’re not too happy with the government stealing your last hour of beneficial sleep.” Haha! Oh, yes, sooo disturbing. How dare the mean government “steal” this from you? What a bunch of jerks they are to swap one hour of one day’s worth of sleep per year for one more hour of daylight at the end of the day for roughly 245 days. I wonder if restaurant owners with outside patios are equally disturbed by this government “theft?”