issue 09 / volume 41

Fire destroys four-storey
apartment building
in Coquitlam

» Successful evacuation resulted in zero casualties

Chandler Walter
Distribution Manager

four-storey apartment

complex on 2915 Glen
Drive in Coquitlam reportedly
erupted into flames around
4:30 p.m. on February 16
and continued on into the
night. Investigators are still
determining the cause, though

is not considered suspicious.

Cal McErlean and Michael
Luke, who live in an apartment
complex near the incident,
were among the first to notice
the smoke rising from the
apartment. “You can see where
the second floor is, that second
floor was on fire and moving
up,’ Luke said about his initial
sighting.

One onlooker nearby also
stated that he saw a propane
tank burst on the third floor
balcony, shooting straight up to
the apartment above.

Luke and McErlean’s
wheelchair-bound friend was
living in a first floor apartment
directly beneath the spreading
fire, and the two rushed in to

: help him.

: the patio fence, helping our

: wheelchair buddy and his dog

: get out of there. I’m pulling

: pictures off the walls, Michael’s
: grabbing his laptop, we're trying :
: to grab all his particulars.” :

: the underground parking to

: retrieve a wheelchair accessible
it has been reported that the fire } van.
: arrived in the building minutes
: before many of the residents

: were aware of the blaze. “Once

: Michael and I went inside

: the alarms were on within a

: couple minutes. Within five,

: 10 minutes the fire guys were

: inside, everyone was knocking

: on doors.”

: noticed by McErlean, “There

: were no sprinklers, nothing in
: the hallways pushing water.”

: Sprinkler systems were not

: a requirement of buildings

: constructed in the 1980s in BC.

“We're jumping over

Another friend rushed into

McErlean claimed they

The lack of sprinklers was

Luke and McErlean were

eventually able to successfully
: get their wheelchair-bound
: friend to medical attention.

Reportedly as many as 100

: to 150 now former residents

: of the complex have been left
: displaced by the fire. Aide was
: set up at the nearby Pinetree

: Community Centre, and while

several people were given hotel

: accommodations for three days’
: time, victims of the fire will

: have to continue looking for

: places to live.

Some buildings nearby were

: also affected by the resulting

: smoke, but had high-powered
: fans circulating air through

: their front doors shortly after
: the fire began.

No casualties were

: reported, although several
: firefighters suffered minor
: injuries.

Reportedly more than 40

: firefighters fought the blaze

: until 3 a.m. the following

: morning to fully extinguish the
: flames, and it will be months

: before the damage to the four-

: storey apartment building will

: be fully accessed and repaired.

 

For Washington eyes only

» Kinder Morgan emergency response plan not

to be made public in BC

Angela Espinoza
News Editor

Mi news
4 _ @theotherpress.ca

ke Morgan is stirring

controversy once again after :
president Ian Anderson publicly :

stated on February 20 that
BC’s spill plan or emergency

response plan (ERP) should not
be made public. Reportedly due :
to “security concerns,” residents :

of British Columbia will not
be permitted to see Kinder
Morgan’s ERP regarding the
Trans-Mountain pipeline.

“There are very real security :

concerns that we have with
respect to posting our full and
complete plans where critical
valves and critical access points
to the system are delineated,”
said Anderson.

However, those in
Washington State—which the
pipeline would travel through—

have apparently already seen
: their own 383-page plan.

evacuation zones and response
: times are outlined in both

: plans, along with potential

: areas of concern within the

: pipeline walls.

Information such as

The Globe and Mail

 

Image from NTSB

: reported that the Washington
: ERP was made public online

: from January 9 until February
: 18, while Canada’s Nation

: Energy Board has only been

: provided with a plan that

: reportedly had many areas

: blacked out.

 

news // 5

What's up, Doug:
2015 DSU AGM

 
 

Angela Espinoza
News Editor

NM news
@theotherpress.ca

his year’s Douglas Students’ Union (DSU) Annual General

Meeting took place on February 19 at the DSU Lounge at
the New Westminster campus.

BC Representative for the Canadian Federation of
Students Jenelle Davies was the speaker for the AGM, listing
out motions from the day’s agenda. Additional speakers
included DSU Executive Director Tim Rattel and Member-at-
Large Derek van Deursen.

Motions passed included adopting the previous years’
financial statement, which showed several surpluses to be
used in situations of emergency, including the recently
changed dental insurance provider for Douglas College
students.

Davies also stated that over 6,000 post cards had been
sent to the Ministry of Education as part of the ongoing
“Squash the Squeeze” campaign, which hopes to lower
student tuition costs across Canada.

The AGM ended with a Canucks tickets giveaway, which a
female Douglas student won in a draw.

 

 

 

All Photos by Angela Espinoza