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The sound of fire trucks roaring past Gloria Jlassi’s Regina home has become more common over the past several years.
Jlassi lives in North Central, and house fires in what she described as abandoned or unused homes and garages are becoming a growing issue around her house.
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“It is putting not just my house, but other houses at risk too,” she said.
“And people are fearing that we are going to come home and our house is going to be gone because the house next to ours, or the garage, has gone up in flames.”
The most recent concern for her was one of the garages across the back alley from her home. Jlassi said it is not currently being used by her neighbours, and because of that it is a spot where homeless people go in to escape the elements, often starting fires to keep themselves warm.
Jlassi said there were three fires in that same garage between October and March, with the most recent fire being the worst of them all.
Gloria Jlassi said the third fire in the garage across the back alley from her home was the worst one yet. (Gloria Jlassi/Submitted)
“It is very scary, because the ash was blowing towards my house and we were all worried about our garage (and) my house,” she said.
“You could feel the heat in my kitchen; that’s how bad it was.”
The fire in March left part of her fence charred as she watched the flames from her kitchen window.
“It has just put fear into my family,” Jlassi said. “We don’t want to leave our house now. We don’t want to go to bed. One of us stays up at night just to kind of keep an eye on the back alley now, because we’re all fearful that it’s going to be our fence or garage next.”
Gloria Jlassi said the fire left part of her fence damaged and garbage is left in the back alley. (Gloria Jlassi/Submitted)
She said the house and garage fires in her neighbourhood have only grown worse over the past four years.
“We see the fire department coming out here more and more and more,” she said. “It’s these garages or houses that are left abandoned and not fixed up, then people re-enter them and start them on fire.”
Gloria Jlassi said she is concerned for the safety of her family, and her pets. (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)
Gord Hewitt, Regina’s deputy fire chief, said North Central and the core area have a higher rates of fire calls for houses, garages and sheds than any other neighbourhood in the city. He said there have been roughly 70 structure fires reported in the first quarter of 2025, with more than 20 in North Central and 12 in the core area.
“I can see there are two different properties that we’ve been to twice,” he said. “There have been houses that we’ve been back to three times, maybe even a fourth time.”
Hewitt said the cause of each of the fires is different, but human-caused blazes make up the large majority.
“Human-caused is not necessarily the same as intentionally lit,” the firefighter explained. “We do see different determinations. Intentionally lit is one that we see, but also accidental – caused by humans – is a common cause of a fire.”
Hewitt said one of the reasons a house or garage would catch fire is because someone who is homeless goes inside and lights a fire to stay warm. But he noted that the exact cause of a blaze is not always easy to pinpoint.
“One of the biggest issues we have sometimes is when our inspectors are trying to determine the cause, because they need a witness or an occupant to let them know what happened,” Hewitt explained.
“But sometimes there’s nobody on the scene, so getting into the details of that is a little bit more complicated than just relating it to one specific issue.”
After a house or garage has caught fire, Hewitt said the property is boarded up and a marking is made on it to indicate there has been a fire and potentially how much damage is inside.
Otherwise, the property undergoes an inspection and is then turned over to the city.
But that brings little comfort to Jlassi, who said she has no escape from what is happening.
“Once it is dark and everyone is going to bed, one of us stays up, and we have the one curtain open enough that we can see what’s going on back there, and we stay up till almost daylight hours… just to make sure nothing more happens back there,” she said.
“We know that it’s just a matter of time before they come and light the garage on fire again, and the damage that is done from it is just, it’s awful. All you have to do is go take a hammer and hit just one of the burnt frame boards and it’ll come right down. There’s nothing left of that garage.”
