Thursday, May 17, 2012

Story barn closed by fire department


There have been no problems for 24 years, but now the Wilmot Township fire department has closed the Story Barn at Baden because the owners won’t invest to meet building and fire codes for “occupancy assembly.”

It’s the third barn that has been used for community gatherings to be targeted by the fire department. The Healing Barn near St. Agatha and the White Barn near Shingletown have also been ordered to either upgrade to meet the codes or close down.

People have been gatheirng around a pot-bellied stove, sipping cider and sharing stories in the barn owned by Mary-Eileen McClear and her husband.

Rather than investing tens of thousands of dollars in the barn, they are moving their meetings to the Button Factory in Waterloo, a building more than 120 years old. They have lined up enough space for up to 50 people to meet.

Carol Cressman-Foster closed her Healing Barn in August when the fire department said the facility fails to meet the fire and building code standards for occupancy assembly.

She is awaiting a decision on her appeal to the Ontario Fire Safety Commission.

The White Barn owners have also filed an appeal with the commission and are awaiting a decision on an objection they raised over a lack of a signature on the fire department’s order.

There is a political campaign underway, trying to persuade Queen’s Park politicians to change the fire code regulations so barn owners can continue to use them for family and community gatherings without having to spend big bucks to meet occupancy assembly standards.