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THURSDAY JULY 20, 2017
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LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS
Y O U R
IS THERE A MOVE IN YOUR FUTURE?
H O M E T O W N
N E W S P A P E R
CITY HALL
B.C. WILDFIRES
Arenex collapse remains unsolved
Local crews head to Interior Firefighters and police are joining the fight
Engineering report says the exact cause of the roof collapse will likely never be known
Cayley Dobie
cdobie@newwestrecord.ca
Theresa McManus
tmcmanus@newwestrecord.ca
It’s unlikely that the exact cause of the Queen’s Park Arenex roof collapse will ever be known. The city hired aDB Engineering to determine the possible causes and events that resulted in the roof collapse of the 1938 building on Dec. 19, 2016. In a July 5 letter to the city, David Rajendran of aDB Engineering stated the review couldn’t definitively identify one sole cause of the roof collapse, given the limited information available pertaining to the original roof design. “Typically, a structural failure is caused by a number of compounding factors, and seldom can it be attributed to a welldefined singular item,” Rajendran wrote. “It should be noted that a detailed formal structural forensic investigation has not been completed for this collapse. As such, the information contained in this report is based on informal calculations, assumptions and opinions, and therefore should not be used for legal or insurance purposes.” aDB Engineering determined a number of factors likely acted “in an unfortunate combination” that resulted in the collapse of the roof. Not surprisingly, snow loads were cited as one of the factors contributing to the roof collapse as the region had seen a series of snow falls and “significantly Continued on page 11
THAT FRIDAY FEELING: The second Fridays on Front, held last Friday on the newly completed Front Street mews, drew large crowds to New Westminster’s downtown once again. Visitors enjoyed libations, food and entertainment provided by the arts council. There were also artisans selling everything from handmade soaps to ginger beer. And did we mention the beautiful weather? Fridays on Front continues this Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER
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NewWestminster police officers and firefighters are in B.C.’s Interior helping first responders deal with wildfires that continue to rage out of control. “We’re doing this to support and assist with an unprecedented fire emergency that we’ve never kind of had before,” said NewWestminster Police Department spokesperson Staff Sgt. Andrew Perry. So far, only local police officers working in seconded provincial RCMP units have been deployed, according to Perry. On July 7, the first team of eight to 10 NewWest officers was sent toWilliams Lake, Quesnel and 100 Mile House. A second crew left on July 11. Officers are helping with evacuations, roadblocks and protecting property, as required. “We just had some members return in the last day or two and some new ones are going up,” he added. “Hours are up to 16 hours in a day that they’re doing now, and it sounds like they’re being rotated around.” Continued on page 10
Mondays: Happy Hour All Day Tuesdays: Beef Shanghai $15 810 Quayside Dr. New Westminster at the River Market @wildricebc www.wildricebc.ca 778.397.0028