bd . A ORTH AND pril 1, 1990 News 985-2131 Classified 986-6222 ahd Arson victims left high. and dry N. VAN MARINA OWNERS REJECT BLAZE LIABILITY THE UNINSURED boaters who suffered substantial prop- erty losses when an arson fire hit the Lynnwood Marina on New Year’s Eve have been left high and dry now that the marina’s owners have rejected liability im the case. Boat owners Dick Pettet, Dave Clemont and Steve Mitchell, and boat live-aboards S. Devi Naidu and Robbie Robinson are claiming total losses of $621,178 as a result of th arson. In a March 7 letter from the group’s lawyer, Michael Morrow, to Lynnwood Marina manage- ment, Morrow altleges the marina was negligent due to a Jack of operable fire extinguishers on the float where the fire occurred. The fire was set by a trespasser. The marina had employed a se- curity guard, but he was let go shortly after new management took over the marina in October and deemed him to be superfluous. Morrow claims the lack of a se- curity guard at the site and the lack of a working lock on the gate to the marina floats at the time of the fire, resulted in unimpeded access to the site by the arsonist. The January blaze destroyed a 40-foot Monk twin diesel cruiser owned by Clemont, a 28-foot Tollycraft express cruiser owned by Steve Mitchell, and a 42-foot houseboat owned by Pettet. But said marina manager Gerry Blair, “We don’t feel we were liable for the fire because it was started by arson.”* The security guard, he said, “was approximately 70 years old. He was more likely to get hurt than anything else should he come across a burglar or somebody try- ing to break into a car.” Blair claims security to the marina floats was compromised on the night of the blaze by people jamming a gate open for New Year’s visitors. “The gates are jammed open INSIDE: Sule COCKTAILS By MICHAEL BECKER News Reporter daily,’ he said, ‘‘and people sim- ply don’t bother to close them again. About 100 people tive aboard float homes and boats here. A person walking down the gang plank any time of night or day with a gas can does nat look suspicious — that’s what they do."” Blair and a Lynnwood boater contend the fire extinguishers located close to the scene of the fire were in working order at the time of the fire. Meanwhile Ports Canada Police have wrapped up their investiga- tion into the fire. Said Cpl. Larry Kozak, ‘‘We’ve come up against the wall. We're not going to be able to nail any- body solid for it. It's a situation of where we're pretty sure of the in- dividual who did it, but there isn’t sufficient evidence to nail him for it. People saw the guy leaving, bur there’s nothing specific in the description and the alibi checked out.”” Kozak said police initially had a number of suspects. The list was eventually narrowed down to one. ‘It’s very frustrating, but that’s the nature of the beast. We know that it was arson. The file will have to remain in limbo. If we get addi- tional evidence down the road, we can always reopen the case,"’ he said. Said Blair of the marina’s losses, “If we totally rebuilt, the fire would cost us $105,000. We will probably rebuild the dock part and put in a different cover, one that’s more portable.” eee: si ee tir Distribution 986-1337 52 pages 25¢ NEWS photo Mike Wakefield 2 charged with parrot-napping TWO 18-YEAR-old North Vancouver men have been charged with theft over $1,000 after they were caught aftempting to remove an eight-foot parrot from the roof of Earl's Tin Palace on Marine Drive in North Van- couver. The case of the pusloined parrots ruffled some feathers at the local restaurant. The outlet owns three of the big birds. A blue parrot was reported missing to West Vancouver Police Feb. 2. it disappeared from the restaurant at night and turned up a week later sitting at a desk in a UBC psychology department office. West Vancouver Police were called to the restaurant at 3:5] a.m. on March #1. In- vestigating officers discovered two young men on the rcof with a de-perched preen parrot. A third man was found sieeping in a car parked below. Said Ear!’s spokesman Kevin Smith, “We've had them stolen from other restau- rants. I don’t know what people do with them. In Calgary we actually had one decapitated.’ The parrots are worth $1,600 each and are manufactured in the Orient for the restaurant chain. Added Smith, ‘We'll weld them on there a Jittle better or install some vaporizing laser beams or something.”* Earl's staff member (above) Gavin Dewest displays one of the errant parrots. Dyin Sea Reine ee ear Ne ICI AFFAIRS: