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Our ordeal began in 2002 .. Interlocutory Injunction
obtained in May of 2005
I can tell you first-hand what it is like when one is
forced to deal with a smoke issue, as I have lived through it.
I can tell you that the stench permeates your entire
home, your clothing, your hair, and you can even taste it.
Exposure to the smoke was extremely uncomfortable and
caused burning eyes, dry throat, irritation of the nasal passages and headaches.
When the smoke stopped, so did the symptoms.
There was no relief by opening windows because the
acrid smells were like a fog covering our house. Buying expensive air cleaners
did nothing to remove the odours.
There was no enjoying the deck and yard as long as the
wood burning stove was in operation.
As there was no provincial or municipal authority to
whom I could turn to for help, I was forced to resort to the courts.
In order to get the smell of the wood smoke out of the
house, we removed and replaced the carpeting, ductwork,
the furnace and air conditioning unit, and cleaned all
surfaces including the walls. Mattresses and pillows were discarded as they
smelled of wood smoke. It was an expensive project.
I can tell you the fatigue my husband felt after
working all day and then going to our house until near midnight day after day to
work on the renovations. Myself, I had all the clothing and every knick-knack
and assorted other household objects to wash before bringing them back to the
house.
I came to notice that there were absolutely no cobwebs
in a house that had been vacated for so long. I can only assume that something
in the smoke killed the spiders because, now that we have the Injunction and
there is no burning, I again have cobwebs.
We were fortunate enough to have the means to seek
legal help. Remember that there was no provincial or municipal authority which
we could turn to for help. What would happen to those that cannot afford legal
help? Would they be forced to move out of their homes? Could they afford to do
that? Would they be able to sell their home when a potential buyer saw or
smelled the smoke? Or, would they have to remain in their homes with their
children and become sick? It's a thought that is very disturbing to me.
I think it is high time that our municipalities give
some thought to banning all wood burning in residential areas. I fail to see how
the public interest is served by permitting the unnecessary fouling of the air
we all have the need to breathe.
Update:
On September 10, 2008, I
attended Motions Court to hear the motion filed by the defence attorney. He had
filed a motion to delay trial and have the injunction lifted to allow his
clients to burn for 3 days to test their chimney. For what purpose, I do not
know, as this would be 3 years after the damage to our home. The judge declined
the motion and ordered trial to take place as scheduled.
On September 16, 2008, I attended Motions Court once again as the defence
attorney had filed another motion to appeal the deposition of September 10,
2008. The visiting judge granted the appeal and it will be heard in Divisional
Court in London, Ontario before a panel of 3 judges.
On November 16, 2009, the Appeal Hearing was heard. They lost their appeal and
trial will be booked.
Once trial is over, I will
write a complete story here of our attempts to get the burning stopped.
I will give you the
responses that we received from those we contacted and also give you the contacts
who refused to even respond.
It's hard to believe that
something so obvious was allowed to continue to the point that we were forced
from our home by the smoke and were put to exhausting and expensive work
restoring our home!
Stay tuned......
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