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Liard First Nation closes Campbell Block

A dilapidated apartment in Watson Lake has been shut down. The Liard First Nation, which owns the building, shuttered the Campbell Block last week, moving three people to a different building.

A dilapidated apartment in Watson Lake has been shut down.

The Liard First Nation, which owns the building, shuttered the Campbell Block last week, moving three people to a different building. A fourth resident found his own place to live, according to the fire chief.

Scott MacLean said the building had safety and fire code violations.

There are electrical issues and problems with the fire separation between apartments, which keeps flames from spreading, he said.

Some apartments have no doors. “People have been using them to squat in, basically,” he said.

There are 12 units in the building, but he said most of them are uninhabitable.

In April the fire department issued an order to fix things up.

The First Nation fixed the broken fire alarm but not the other concerns. Instead the apartment was voluntarily shut down.

“Ultimately this is the very last thing we want to do, is close a building. I’ve been working with the First Nation and they have tried,” MacLean said.

The chief said he didn’t know how much fixing the building would have cost. There is no word on what will happen to it now.

The First Nation could not be reached for comment.