accuse

Two civil lawsuits filed in B.C. Supreme Court accuse the owners of a first-floor apartment unit in Penticton, B.C., for being responsible for starting a massive fire in October 2020 that destroyed much of the building and left dozens of people homeless. 

The fire at the apartment complex on Elm Avenue caused extensive damage in the three-floor building and took the lives of two people living there.

The RCMP ruled out criminality in their investigation.

At the time of the early morning fire, Penticton Fire Chief Larry Watkinson said the building was “heavily involved” by the time firefighters arrived on scene. 

“The fire was on the exterior of the building and was lapping up to the third floor and into the apartments through the balconies,” Watkinson said.

“It got into the roof structure and tore across the roof.”

This month, three people who were living in the building at the