Water service restored to London apartment building owned by wanted man
Water service has been restored to a London apartment building owned by a man wanted in the United States.
The building on Egerton Street is owned by Gareth West, accused of defrauding seniors out of millions of dollars through a grandparent scam. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
City staff received a complaint from tenants earlier this month and issued a property standards order. Officers have been working with the mortgage company to resolve the issue.
West owns another apartment building, located in St. Thomas. The building also had utilities shut off earlier this week due to unpaid bills.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
7 hours ago
- CBC
1 person charged after suspicious fire at London community housing apartment
Social Sharing One person has been charged while several other people wait to return to their homes following a Monday morning fire at a community housing complex that police are calling suspicious. Just before 9 a.m., crews were called to an apartment fire at 349 Wharncliffe Rd. N., where they encountered heavy smoke and fire coming from a third-floor unit, platoon chief Gary Mosburger said. Fire crews were able to contain the fire to the one unit in less than 10 minutes, he said, but there was damage to others. "The fire consumed the main apartment unit, and then smoke migration throughout the rest of the building occurred as well," Mosburger said. "HVAC piping as well as general water lines that are coming in to provide water to your sinks can get hot enough that it will melt or break. With that, comes the need to shut off the water." One person has been charged in relation to the fire, police said, but they would not reveal the nature of the charge. Residents told CBC News they saw thick smoke, flames and shattered glass coming from the third floor. "It was thick black smoke. It smelled very chemically, like burnt rubber almost," said eighth-floor resident Mackenzie Lavalliere, who had been outside with her dogs since the fire broke out. "Everything's charred on the balcony and the whole window blew off." The eight-floor high-rise building, located just off Western Road, has 145 units and is owned by London Middlesex Community Housing (LMCH). "I woke up, looked out the balcony and saw thick black smoke with some dude on the [third floor] balcony," said Cheryl Ann Linekar, who was staying over at the apartment building the night before. "As time went on, it got hotter and glass was exploding literally all over the place. At one point, he was ducking down and the fireman had to put the ladder up to rescue him," she said. Fire crews rescued one person who was living in the unit where the fire started, Mosburger said, and that person is being treated for smoke inhalation. About 50 people were told to exit the building this morning, though many have now returned to their units. Mosburger said it is unclear how many people will not be able to return to the apartment tonight. "It's really situational, due to the fact that the smoke was coming out of the west side of the building so if people had windows open or smoke was being sucked in by HVAC units, it obviously affected their units," Mosburger said. "It was a little bit all over the place." Red Cross, London police and LMCH will help people find temporary accommodations if necessary, Mosburger said. "We are working with emergency services and supporting tenants affected by the incident. The safety and well-being of our tenants is our top priority," LMCH spokesperson Matt Senechal said in a statement. Linekar was staying two floors up from the fire and said that while she is allowed to return to the unit, she plans to stay outdoors until more smoke clears. "It smells so bad. You can smell it out here, but it's way worse in there," she said. Crews are continuing to monitor air quality, Mosburger said. Fires common at apartment building, residents say Mosburger would not comment on the cause of Monday's fire, but said that it is believed to be suspicious. Fire prevention investigators and London police will continue investigating. Damage is estimated at over $200,000, Mosburger said. Some building residents and neighbours say fires are a common sight at the community housing apartment. "When I moved in here in April of 2024, there was a fire alarm every other day or every other week, so we just got used to it," said Lavalliere, adding that she always checks the London fire scanner before leaving the building to ensure it's not a false alarm. Linekar, who visits the apartment building often, said she has seen fires four separate times.
CBC
7 hours ago
- CBC
Stella Rimington, Britain's 1st female MI5 spy chief, dead at 90
Social Sharing Stella Rimington, the first female chief of Britain's MI5 intelligence agency and later a successful thriller writer, has died, her family said Monday. She was 90. The first woman to head a U.K. intelligence agency, Rimington was the inspiration for Judi Dench's portrayal of the spy chief M in seven James Bond films. Her family said in a statement that Rimington died on Sunday "surrounded by her beloved family and dogs and determinedly held on to the life she loved until her last breath." MI5's current director-general, Ken McCallum, said that "as the first avowed female head of any intelligence agency in the world, Dame Stella broke through long-standing barriers and was a visible example of the importance of diversity in leadership." A rise through the ranks Born in London in 1935, Rimington studied English at Edinburgh University and later worked as an archivist. She was living in India with her diplomat husband in the mid-1960s when she was recruited by MI5, Britain's domestic security service, as a part-time clerk and typist in its New Delhi office. She joined the agency full-time after moving back to London in 1969 and rose through the ranks, overcoming rules that kept the most prestigious roles — such as recruiting and running agents — for men only. She worked in each of MI5's operational branches — counterespionage, counterterrorism and counter-subversion — at a time when MI5's work included sniffing out Soviet spies, infiltrating Northern Ireland militant groups and, controversially, spying on leftists, trade union leaders and other alleged subversives. Rimington acknowledged in 2001 that the organization "may have been a bit over-enthusiastic" in some of its snooping on domestic targets during the Cold War. Rimington was appointed MI5 director-general in 1992, the first head of the organization to be named in public, and her tenure saw the secretive organization become slightly more open. Bond inspiration, damehood and fiction writing Dench's first appearance as M, a role formerly played by men, was in GoldenEye in 1995. The film's producers said the casting was inspired by Rimington's appointment. After stepping down in 1996, Rimington was made a dame, the female equivalent of a knight, by Queen Elizabeth II. Rimington later published a memoir, Open Secret — to the displeasure of the government — and a series of spy thrillers featuring fictional MI5 officer Liz Carlyle. The Devil's Bargain, published in 2022, introduced a new heroine, CIA officer Manon Tyler. Paving the way for others Other women followed Rimington's appointment to top intelligence jobs. Eliza Manningham-Buller led MI5 between 2002 and 2007. Anne Keast-Butler became head of electronic and cyber-intelligence agency GCHQ in 2023. Blaise Metreweli was named in June as the first female head of the overseas intelligence agency, MI6. Rimington and her husband, John Rimington, separated in the 1980s, but moved back in together during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. "It's a good recipe for marriage, I'd say," she said. "Split up, live separately, and return to it later."
CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
One person in custody after apartment building fire in North London
One person was taken into custody and an entire floor out of commission after apartment building fire in North London. 'London fire crews were alerted by multiple 911 calls to 349 Wharncliffe Road for an apartment fire with somebody trapped on the balcony,' said Platoon Chief Gary Mosburger of the London Fire Department. 'Our first engine arrived, within four minutes of notification and was able to successfully deploy ladders to rescue that person from the balcony. We have the fire under control on the third floor; we've got the building evacuated in and working with our partners to help support the evacuees.' Wharncliffe fire Aug. 4 London firefighters had to rescue a person from a balcony on the third floor after a fire at 349 Wharncliffe Road North Monday morning (Brent Lale/CTV London) Some residents were able to shelter in place, but most evacuated the building. The third floor is out of commission for people going back in. Fire officials said smoke went up above the unit to higher floors, so firefighters are working to make sure everyone is safe. Residents told CTV News this is the second fire in that same unit, which led them to believe that's why the tenant was taken into custody. Wharncliffe fire Aug. 4 London Fire fighters had to rescue a person from a balcony on the third floor after a fire at 349 Wharncliffe Rd. North Monday morning (Source: Brent Lale/CTV London) A man was taken into custody by London Police after a fire in his unit at 349 Wharncliffe Road North Monday morning. (Brent Lale/CTV London) 'Our area of responsibility is the fire itself,' said Mosburger. 'We've contacted our fire prevention investigators to come in and determine the origin, cause, and circumstance of the fire. Fire at this time of the day is rather not normal with respect to this type of building. We have a lot of fire damage and smoke damage throughout, so our investigators will do their origin cause and get back to us with that information.'
