My office window overlooks Eighth Street west of Esther Short Park. Not an hour goes by that I don’t see a person who seems to be homeless or suffering from mental illness. Often these people will stop at a small planter near the window, which until Tuesday contained a bushy tree. I see them smoking cigarettes and drugs.
So when Associate Editor Will Campbell called me last Saturday morning to report that someone had set the building on fire, I could imagine how it happened. And, as it turns out, that’s what the investigation showed. A homeless woman, possibly mentally ill, was allegedly smoking fentanyl in the planter next to the front door when she set our landscaping on fire. The fire was hot enough to break a window, and it scorched the facade. Damage inside was limited to Publisher Ben Campbell’s office door, which firefighters had to force open to see if the fire had extended inside. It hadn’t.
Although minor, the fire caused us to take several actions.
First, Will immediately wrote and posted a short story about the fire on our website. The fire occurred less than two blocks from the Vancouver Farmers Market, and because we occupy a large commercial building, a lot of fire engines were dispatched. We wanted to let people know what the commotion was about.
Second, on Tuesday, several members of our press crew removed most of the landscaping from the front of the building, leaving only a couple of small lace-leaf Japanese maples. It won’t look as nice, unfortunately, but we need to prevent a similar fire. I am hopeful it will also reduce drug use and public urination, and possibly the number of people who choose to smoke, argue and litter in front of my office window.
