The provincial government is working on a plan to get rid of derelict buildings across Saskatchewan.
The province hopes to launch a pilot project alongside rural municipalities and volunteer fire departments to use abandoned buildings for firefighter training exercises.
“This is certainly a start,” Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) president Bill Huber said.
“It takes a lot of the expense off the municipalities, if they do take ownership of some of these abandoned properties that you’ve acquired through tax arrears. At least we don’t have to pay for the transportation and the removal of the buildings.”
Derelict buildings on the side of a highway have become a priority for SARM, as they not only become an eyesore, but they become a safety hazard and financial burden as the RMs assume control of the property through tax arrears.
“Today is all about big picture,” Environment Minister Travis Keisig said.
“We are going to work together to provide municipalities with the opportunity to provide a training scenario for their volunteer fire departments.”
Keisig was unable to say what that big picture was, or any of the other fine details. No cost estimate was provided, and he said the framework will continue to be developed over the spring summer and fall.
Volunteer firefighters across the province certainly weren’t aware of Tuesday’s announcement until after it happened.
“We are caught off guard a little bit because we didn’t know it was coming,” said Louis Cherpin, the president of the Saskatchewan Volunteer Firefighters Association.
“Next time they’ll le met know, I’m sure.”
As Cherpin spoke to reporters minutes after learning about the unfinished framework, he said regardless of how it proceeds, it will benefit fire departments.
“It’s a great thing. We can tell you today that volunteer firefighters in Saskatchewan, their first fire is a live fire. And that’s the wrong way to go about it,” he said.
Cherpin sees training as more than just firefighters going around to abandoned buildings and starting them on fire and putting them out for experience. He wants to see some buildings be used as training centres for evacuation and rescue before they’re burned down.
“We can bring hot dogs and watch it burn, but anybody can do that,” he said.
