Demolition work nearly done on Kerr Apartment Building as all walls coming down
By Timothy Schafer
The Kerr Apartment Building is nearly demolished.
The 100-year-old burned out stone structure was signed off for demolition in late May after building and fire investigators were convinced the building would not be safe to rebuild.
A brief tour of the building — that burned in a destructive fire on Jan. 5 — revealed decay, mold, disintegration of the wall coverings and personal belongings, major hazards that could not be remedied.
Structural problems were found to exist, which sealed the fate of the stone exterior, once thought to be salvageable in the wake of the fire.
“The south exterior granite wall has been found to be unstable, and as a result will require stabilization of both the east and west walls,” said Nelson Fire Rescue chief Simon Grypma at the time of the investigation. “This process is difficult and, unfortunately, will not ensure their stability when the rear wall is dismantled.”
However, the front of the building that was once thought salvageable won’t be. The floor system was found to be unable to able to support the rock walls.
The completion of the fire investigation and the removal of the utilities is still pending.
Although much of the interior and exterior of the building are down, the building is in an “extremely delicate and dangerous” state.
- Photos by Jessica and Sarah Fuhr.
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See also
- Investigation of fire on hold
- Kerr building fire “suspicious”
- Agencies meet with Kerr residents
- Unmet needs starting to be addressed
