As winter nears, fire inspector fears more people will seek shelter in former Halifax school

Fire officials believe people are taking shelter inside the former Bloomfield School and that the problem’s going to get worse this winter.

A fire inspector’s notes on the complex between Agricola and Robie streets in Halifax’s north end paint the former school as a public safety risk.

“There is an immediate risk to a person’s life safety to anyone who enters the building or is even within the immediate area of the structure,” Dustin Garnett, an inspector with the city’s fire prevention division, said in a case summary recently filed with the provincial regulator.

The developer that owns the former school site, Banc Investments Ltd., is appealing Garnett’s order to get a structural integrity assessment of the vacant building to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

Fire prevention inspectors have been advised by senior staff not to enter the building, Garnett said.

‘Homelessness on the rise’

“I believe people are currently taking shelter and occupying this building,” he said in the case summary. “I also anticipate with homelessness on the rise and the colder months upon us more people will look to this building for shelter.”

There is “evidence of structural failure of building components,” Garnett said, noting Bloomfield’s fire protection systems aren’t working.

“Access and exits are obstructed, making emergency operations unduly difficult.”

Bloomfield’s structural integrity is in question, said the fire inspector.

“From the exterior it is evident that the building’s façade is in a state of failure in several areas. Failure of the façade is allowing weather and exterior elements to further deteriorate the superstructure. Exterior window and door openings are deficient thereby allowing weather and exterior elements to infiltrate the building envelope. Portions of interior ceilings have collapsed. Portions of mechanical systems and other installations (have) collapsed.”

Emergency calls 

Firefighters have responded to multiple emergency calls to Bloomfield, including an interior fire on the first floor and an outside fire up against an exterior wall last year, Garnett said.

In 2021, firefighters were called to a fire inside Bloomfield, said the inspector, noting they also dealt with an interior fire at the former school in 2019.

Investigators “were advised by fire crews that portions of a ceiling have collapsed, which prevented our fire investigators from entering and completing their work,” Garnett said.

‘Fire pit’

“HRFE was advised by the public that there is a fire pit inside the building.”

A recent inspection of the exterior found some windows and doors that had been forcibly removed, said the inspector, noting at least one person could be heard moving around inside Bloomfield at the time.

“Municipal compliance has been dealing with unauthorized entry complaints on an ongoing basis and has evidence that people have been accessing the building through second storey windows,” Garnett said.

“During my recent exterior fire inspection there was strong evidence suggesting persons were inside the building which was later affirmed by municipal compliance. Police currently have a do not enter order on the building due to environmental concerns so with no policing of trespassing the situation can quickly escalate. This building is high risk to occupants and first responders.”

Not secure last month 

Methods used to secure Bloomfield haven’t been adequate, said the fire inspector, noting break-ins happen regularly and “for the entire month of October the building was not secure.”

Vacant buildings like Bloomfield “frequently become the target of vandalism, arson and other criminal activity,” Garnett said.

“The building has no heat or electricity so it is likely fires will be used inside for heat and lights, as has been the case in the past. First responders could get trapped inside this large structure due to exits and egress being obstructed from the exterior. Long travel distances from remote areas of this large structure to unobstructed exits are hazardous. First responders or personnel from other agencies are at risk of encountering an aggressive individual while inside the building.”

Closed for years, the city sold the surplus property to Banc for almost $22 million in early 2021.

The deal called for the work to start within five years. The new development slated to go in its place is supposed to include public space and a significant block of affordable housing units.

‘They couldn’t be stopped’

When he contacted Banc president Alex Halef, Garnett said the developer told him to ask the city about the problems as he just bought the property.

“I expressed my concerns that people would seek shelter in this building as temperatures drop and Alex replied people are always in there and they couldn’t be stopped and if he thought that fencing the entire property would stop all trespasser he would instantly fence the property (but) he knows as soon as he does someone would just easily cut the fence and he would constantly be paying to have the fence repaired just as he does with the boarding of openings,” Garnett said.

‘A ton of money’

“He said he has spent a ton of money buying wood to board over windows.”

The fire inspector explained his “concerns of people being trapped and disoriented and having egress issues” from Bloomfield, and “that it would be very likely there could be a fatality in the building if there were an emergency. Alex didn’t feel there was much risk of fire and I gave a few examples and explained the importance of fire personnel being confident to make safe entry. Alex felt he may not be able to comply as he first had to consult with his lawyer.”

Garnett told Halef his request for an engineer’s report on the structure was reasonable and he expected compliance with his order, which was motivated by life and public safety.

“Alex said the property was built like a brick shit house and he couldn’t see the structure being compromised to which I replied that sounded great and should make this an easy issue to deal with.”

The fire inspector also suggested a main entry point to Bloomfield be created for firefighters to get inside if necessary.

Logan Savoie, a property manager with Banc, responded on Oct. 26 about the access issue.

“I think we’ve managed to devise a solution and give you guys a door that can be opened and closed freely,” Savoie told the fire inspector via email.

Plans to give firefighters a key

“We still have a long way to go,” he said, anticipating the work would start Oct. 31.

“It’s looking like there’s going to be some welding and concrete chipping which may take some time, but again please don’t hesitate to reach out for an update. If we go with the locked-door approach we discussed on the phone, I’ll reach out to provide you guys with a key as we discussed.”

Reached Monday, Halef said the building is closed off and there is an entryway.

“We check it daily, anyway,” Halef said.

He wouldn’t say when Bloomfield is going to come down to make way for new development.