City of Cranbrook Mayor Wayne Price and council were provided an update by Cranbrook Fire and Emergency Services Chief Scott Driver on the Knight’s Hall demolition Monday night (Jan. 8).

On December 19, 2023, the Knight’s Hall experienced a structure fire that left the building at risk of collapse. The building was boarded up and without utilities at the time of the fire, and as such our Firefighters were unable to safely enter the structure at any time during or after the fire to complete a search for occupants.

On December 22, 2023 Cranbrook city council adopted a resolution under ss. 72, 73, 74 and 79 of the Community Charter, SBC 2003, c. 26 declaring the building a nuisance, that council considers that it creates an unsafe condition, and that by December 27, 2023 the owner of the property must completely demolish the building so that there are no remaining erect walls (the “remedial action requirement”).

As the owner did not complete this demolition by the specified date, the city quickly moved to contract the work and begin the process as quickly as possible given the safety considerations of a project of this complexity. As per the Community Charter, the cost of the demolition work is transferred to the property owner.

The demolition work on the former Knight’s Hall began on the morning of December 29, and was completed on the afternoon of December 31.

The fire investigation and building search certainly complicated the demolition process but were necessary to fulfill our obligations under the Fire Safety Act and to ensure a thorough search of the building had been completed.

The fire department is happy to report that during the process of demolition, there were no occupants discovered inside the building. Although the fire investigation is not complete at this time, it is safe to say that the fire was likely human caused, however we are unable to determine if it was intentional or accidental at this time, the city reported.

“I am truly grateful for the support received from our contractors throughout this project, without whom we could not have safely carried out this work in the timely fashion that was necessary,” said Chief Driver.

“Of note, we would like to thank Branden Bolen the structural engineer who came out on short notice so he could complete his assessment on top the fire department’s ladder truck, and for the work at the site; Bravo Restorations, Keefer HSE, Hardy Construction Services, Revolution Earthworks, Bolen Engineering and Mountain Eagle Security. As partners in public safety, I would also like to thank our local RCMP detachment for their support and the BC Office of the Fire Commissioner for assistance with the fire investigation. This was a true collaboration of efforts over the holidays and would not have been possible without the commitment of everyone involved.”

The city will now be communicating with the property owner regarding the site cleanup. The December 22, 2023, remediation order was an order to deal with the immediate public safety hazard of the Knight’s Hall structure only, resulting in the demolition. The whole property is currently under an older remedial action order for cleanup of the property, however, that order did not include the Knight’s Hall as the cleanup order preceded the date of the first fire while the building was still sound.

The health and safety of the public are a priority for the city, depending on the discussion with the property owner on the site cleanup to be done, Building and Bylaw services will determine the next steps in the process which may include bringing a report to council seeking a Remedial Action Order to require the owner of the property to remove the debris under the Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 3390, 2000.

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