Owners of Vancouver apartment building that burned three times appear in court

The owner of a Mount Pleasant apartment building that has been the site of three major fires in just over a year appeared in court Thursday.

Fu Ren and his wife Feng Yan, a co-owner, face allegations they failed to properly secure the building following the first and second fires.

“I have a big problem with the fire department,” Ren told the B.C. provincial court judge through an interpreter. “They are always charging me through the court.”

He has faced a litany of allegations over the years for fire and building code violations.

Fortunately, nobody was injured in the fires.

The first, in July of 2023, displaced dozens of tenants from the building at 414 East 10th Ave.

They have never been able to return.

The second one took place weeks after the first, and the final fire happened on Aug. 7 of this year.

That’s when the city ordered the building demolished, saying it will stick Ren and Yan with the bill.

It turns out that’s not the first time the city has paid upfront on the couple’s behalf.

In court Thursday, Ren acknowledged the city gave him a $40,000 bill after it installed perimeter fencing, boarded up unsecure windows and doors, and hired 24-hour security to monitor the site following the first fire.

When the city stopped paying for the security guards, Ren did not hire anyone to replace them, as he was ordered to do.

In court, a city inspector testified that he had posted the order to a plywood portion of the perimeter fence on Sept. 14, 2023, along with a separate order from the fire department.

The inspector said it is city policy to also send copies of such orders through regular mail and also through registered mail.

Together, the orders directed Ren and Yan to provide 24-hour security, secure the building and clean up the exterior of the property to reduce the risk of fire.

Ren denied that he received the orders and suggested that someone may have torn them down from the front of the building.

“It has been reported in the media that several former tenants have a grudge against me,” he testified.

The case has been adjourned to a later date, when Yan is set to testify.