On September 5th at around 2:30 am fire crews in Prince George were racing downtown to see what had triggered a fire alarm. They arrived to a CrossRoads Brewing in flames and battled the fire until that afternoon. Once the smoke settled it was clear the business had sustained $1.8 million in damages. The brewery had been around for more than 8 years and was attempting to prove “a small brewery model” was financially viable in the city. A single spark proved them wrong and the business was effectively destroyed. An individual was arrested and is facing charges of arson. Business owners have lamented that “We are under siege” demanding additional police responses and a safe environment for business development.
In a city ravaged by the trifecta of colonization, resource extraction and poverty it’s clear that the well being of business owners and the powerful will always come at the expense of those who are excluded. According to the RCMP “video surveillance was key” in arresting the alleged CrossRoads arsonist. The cameras credited as playing a key role in this police operation were paid for by the city of Prince George and the cities business advocacy groups. Prior to the arson they had spent more that $40,000 to launch a security camera pilot project downtown. Since the fire, business owners have urged local and provincial politicians that there is a serious problem at hand and requested additional funds for the camera project and social control more broadly via private security patrols.
The fire at CrossRoads is only one of the recent multimillion dollar fires striking the city. It seems that someone or something is set on disrupting tranquility in Prince George. On August 5th, a month before the CrossRoads arson, fire crews found were at Spotless Uniform battling a blaze for more than 12 hours. Spotless handles commercial and industrial uniform and fabric cleaning for customers in BC and Alberta. The fire caused extensive damage to the building, resulting in a total loss of the structure and an estimated $1.9 million in damages.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. For know we can assume that perhaps spontaneous combustion is plaguing this northern metropolis.
-Unsung