Cleanup confusion resolved after vehicle fire near home of Edmonton senior
An Edmonton senior can once again look out her front window at a cleaner street, after city crews arrived to clean up the mess left by a truck that caught fire out front of her home last week.
Margaret Mason claimed the City of Edmonton initially told her she was responsible for cleaning up a layer of soot from a truck that burst into flame on the street Monday morning.
She was frustrated — it wasn't even her vehicle.
"Nothing to do with this household, it had nothing to do with me or anyone in the house," Mason, 84, said Friday.
The fire broke out around 6:30 a.m. Monday in front of Mason's Forest Heights home near 75th Street and 106th Avenue.
"I ran to the living room and there was nothing but grey smoke and fire flying to my bay window," Mason said. "So I panicked, I didn't know what to do but then I was told to stay in.
"I really got scared, I didn't know if my house was going to catch fire."
Firefighters put out the fire, but it left a sooty mess.
"The city sidewalk, the road and all the soot was flying all over the grass," said Mason.
Health concerns
After the fire, a tow truck driver removed debris but told Mason he couldn't do much about the soot. Police advised her to call 311, the contact line for City of Edmonton services.
"All I was told that it's none of their problem, it's mine," Mason said. "I said, 'Since when has the city sidewalk been my property?' and the different departments told me, 'Well, you have to clean it up.' "
Mason's son-in-law, Rob Beck, said the city has said the soot is toxic and it's embedded in the sidewalk.
"We're concerned about everybody's health," Beck said Friday. "We come over here regularly, there's people that walk by. The city said, 'It's toxic, we can't power-wash it.'"
However, a city spokesperson said there is no record of Mason being told the mess was toxic or that she was responsible for the cleanup. Sarah Meffen said it's very unlikely there's any toxicity.
Mason followed up the day after the fire with a call to Ben Henderson, her city councillor. Henderson's secretary came and looked at the mess "and she couldn't believe it," Mason said.
Henderson said he was working to help Mason and admitted it's a unique and complicated situation.
"I don't know who's responsible," he said. He noted that the owner of the burned vehicle may play a role in resolving the issue.
Issue resolved Friday
But later that afternoon, a city road crew did come to the home, Beck said Sunday.
The crew ground the sidewalk with sand to remove as much soot as possible, so it won't be tracked onto Mason's steps.
Shortly after, a hazardous materials vehicle arrived and a crew tested the soil, Beck said in an email. They found it contained no toxins — just carbon.
A street sweeper then came to clean the sand on the road, making about six passes, Beck said. Two city vehicles finished by inspecting the road and sidewalk, he added.
Beck said a platoon commander from Edmonton Fire Rescue happened to be driving by as this was all happened and spoke with Mason, reassuring her the city was responsible for cleanup and the fire department for testing for toxins, but some wires were crossed.
Beck says despite the initial trouble, he appreciated the positive development and is told the city will return later this winter to do any further cleaning.
"They were awesome and even took the time to use an absorbent powder to scrub/sweep Margaret's walks to try to remove some of the soot footprints," Beck said.
"It helped a little and we really appreciated their efforts."
