Vandals have been targeting Powell River Fire Rescue’s training facility at the old outdoor pool site and covering it up is costing training dollars.
Fire rescue deputy chief Rocky Swanson said the city will paint over it because neighbours get upset, and rightly so, he added. He said that in the past, once it has been painted over, people show up and trash it again.
“This is the only training facility that we have,” said Swanson. “This was a building that was going to be demolished by the city but as a department, we took it over. The firefighters, on their own time, took a $2,500 investment from the city and renovated the interior of the building for the purpose of firefighter training.
“That allows us to do our job. It allows us to stay current and costs the city next to nothing. Unfortunately, the building has become a target.”
Swanson said the fire department trains there to help everybody from all walks of life and they really need to keep the facility protected and looked after. He said the fire department is asking the public, as well, to report any activity where there is vandalism.
“We are attempting to get paint on the building that is difficult to paint over but all of that costs the taxpayers money,” said Swanson. “The amount of money spent repairing graffiti is more than we spent to renovate the place for training. The money to repair that comes out of our training and operations budget.
“Basically, money that should be going to help protect residents is going towards getting rid of graffiti.”
One possible solution is the hiring of local artists to paint images on the building in the hope that graffiti artists respect that art and leave it alone. Another possibility is installation of security cameras.
Swanson said the graffiti problem is ongoing and has been an issue for a couple of years.
“Money is so tight,” said Swanson, “and we don’t want to be spending it on covering up graffiti.”
