Security system torched
Rob Gibson – Oct 20, 2022 / 4:00 am | Story: 391529
Photo: James Plumpton
A Kelowna business is thankful a fire intentionally set to its security system wasn’t a lot worse.
“Our security system was torched last night (Tuesday),” James Plumpton, project manager with Horizon Electric Inc., tells Castanet. “A fence post in the middle of nowhere, was lit on fire. You just don’t know what’s gonna happen. Our forklift is 10 feet away from where the fire was. It could have been worse.”
Plumpton says this isn’t the first time they’ve had to deal with vandalism and theft on their property at 1136 Richter Street.
“We’re just around the corner from the homeless shelter and the homeless camp on the Rail Trail. We often deal with our fence being cut open, two, or three times a year. At least once a week somebody’s trying to enter our gated yard to snoop around looking for copper wire and anything else they can steal,” says Plumpton.
The cost to repair the security system will be over a thousand dollars and over the years Plumpton says that number is much higher, into the low thousands.
“It’s an ongoing challenge, and you know, our office staff are always on the lookout for mysterious people walking into our facility.”
The incident has been reported to RCMP but because the security system was disabled it’s difficult to identify any suspects.
Horizon has spent thousands of dollars on its security system over the years and Plumpton says they don’t know what else they can do to deter thieves and vandals.
“We are talking about tweaking cameras and lighting but we’ve pretty much maxed out with what we can do without building a wall-to-wall building with no fence,” says Plumpton.
