Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 22, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba A4 Winnipeg free May 1997 fire claims 34yearold Winnipeg Man emergency Crews responded to three serious fires yester Day one of which claimed the life of a 34yearold All three of the fires appear to have been intentionally and arson is being investigated in at least one but the incidents do not appear to be related in any said Carl in the first two men were seen running away from Wyatt rentals at 363 Mcmillan at just As flames erupted inside the investigators say they believe some sort of accelerator such As gasoline was the heat from the fire was so intense it shattered windows in adjacent Busi starting another Blaze in skills in the second police were called to a Rooming House at 613 Sherbrook at about 6 when a passerby saw smoke billowing out of a the officers found Russell Ange unconscious in a room that was in anger one was taken to Hospital in but stable con the cause of the fire is still under although it is suspected to be caused by careless in the third a 34yearold Man washroom Towel injury shocks Manitoba father boy badly Hurt eight months after Stonewall students death by Nick Martin staff reporter Ken Gigliotti Winnipeg free press officer carries evidence from Sherbrook Home died in his burning Home on Cam Bridge the cause of the Blaze is still under but it is being treated As a suspected Michael Chaboyea was shocked when the Calls started coming from the Vancouver Media tuesday evening asking questions about an incident chillingly Sim Ilar to the death of his seven Earold Noah Chaboyea died last september after he became entangled in a washroom Towel dispenser at his school in an inquest has been a Niney Earold boy hanged himself in a school washroom in on ramp staff Ross Fisher the boy was taken unconscious to but is expected to at first i was quite Chaboyea More and it becomes not so much an isolated Inci the school they have an obligation to make sure our kids Are Safe while there in their Chaboyea said parents and kids need to be alerted to the dangers of every Day items such As Towel that outweighs the risk of drawing attention to dangerous he theres a real concern about the More that can be brought out about the better it will Chaboyea said he believes Noah and other children were using the towels like a like they sit on a swing and twist it it appeared kids had been playing a game of blackout but in the kids were deliberately trying to see How Long they could hang before blacking police it appeared kids had been playing a game of Fisher at least two students were he and others knew about How the boy had gone to the Wash room alone and was discovered by a teacher when he did not ramp Are investigating to deter mine How widespread the practice is and How it but it appears to be limited to the one Fisher he said he heard of a Childs death in a similar Accident three years ago in the Manitoba association of school trustees int aware of any fad such As the one involved in the Surrey Inci risk manager Keith Thomas said when Noah Chaboyea Thomas and maintenance staff tested the Towel and saw that smaller kids could ride them like a we took a real hard look at those we saw a child could do Thomas said that As far As he every Manitoba school division has either switched to hot air dryers or installed safety bars which limit How much Towel is in Towel dispensers were immediately removed throughout the school and assemblies Are being school Board spokeswoman Muriel Wilson damage claim should be assessed on its own merits if rioters had trashed Ann Atwoods Northend instead of pot shed at least be Able to get some insurance Money but As it Atwoods rental property is her tenants face criminal charges and her insurance company refuses to pay for the damage done when the Machray Avenue Home was turned into a hydroponic marijuana its All been a bit much for the elderly woman who was hoping to supplement her pension by renting the vacant family Home to three Nice boys who came calling one Day last its All been much too stressful at this Point in my at pod adding to Atwoods stress Levels is the behaviour of general Accident Assurance company of the insurance company refuses to pay for the damage caused before police shut Down the grow operation in Paul Wiecek plastic stapled to the Walls to keep the humidity High for about 40 plants left much of the second floor covered in two months the air in the Home is still almost everything needs to be patched and repainted before Atwood can put the House up for but to do Shell need about and general Assurance refuses to cough it arguing the damage int covered by her homeowners pol make no Atwoods policy is insuring her Home against everything from lightning and explosion to Impact by aircraft and and it also covers but general Assurance says Atwoods damage Doest fit their definition of vandalism the malicious or Igno rant destruction of Public or private in my stapling plastic up on plaster Walls and then cranking the humidity up to 100 per cent certainly qualifies As and the fact these Nice boys did that to a 75 year old pensioners Home certainly Falls under any definition of Igno rant in familiar so whats the problem you ask Good and one George regional manager for Gen eral was just starting to answer when he suggested he pull Atwoods file and Call instead of i got a Call from generals communications director in i dont know Why they Felt the need to bring in a communications director particularly one from Toronto to Tell me what was going on in unless it was for damage it seemed to me that Klassen and i were communicating just because one of the things Klassen told me was that general Assurance also holds an insurance policy on one of those Large commercial buildings that were raided by police a few months you May recall the it was front Page news in mid March As police boasted they had discovered the largest Ever hydroponic marijuana operation Ever in Winnipeg operating in two strip malls and a former Auto body Klassen didst explain what that Case has to do with Atwoods Little but i think its pretty in Atwoods Kirk even told her daughter As he said if they paid out on my mothers it would open up a whole can of Sandy Shier so now we get to the heart of the it would appear generals refusal to pay out Atwoods claim has nothing to do with varying definitions of vandalism and everything to do with much More expensive commercial properties they insure and the spectre that doing the right thing for Atwood could Force them to pay out much bigger Bucks Down the All i know is Atwood paid last year to insure her Home and now that she wants to make a claim her first one she has a right to expect it to be assessed on its own if Only there was a Way to get insurance against those insurance got a Story for our watchdog Call Paul Wiecek at fax at 697 7412 or write at 1355 Mountain Kiliona lumber cisal 2 locations 1066 Springfield Road 6611900 1085 Erin 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