INSPECTION ANGERS HOMEOWNER

Margaret Hunt faced two inspections from Mission's Public Safety Team
(PSIT) in as many years.

The team had visited her a year ago at her home on Richards Avenue
and she was prepared to meet them again last Wednesday at her
Cardinal Street property.

Hunt has lived in Mission for 17 years and owns three properties with
her husband. She raised her children here, volunteered at their
schools and coached baseball for years. She considers herself a good
citizen who has given back to the community.

When she received a notice of inspection for excessive hydro use at
her Richards Avenue home last year, she willingly let the inspectors
in and showed them around because she knew they wouldn't find anything illegal.

The electrician examined the electrical panel and determined the high
hydro use in the 50-year-old house was justified, but the other two
inspectors were not convinced.

They probed closets, and all the nooks and crannies.

Hunt said they were rude, intrusive and she felt violated.

The search moved to the property outbuildings. There was no power to
the shed where her husband kept half a dozen old car frames.
Inspectors spent two hours shining their flashlights into each of the
empty vehicles and even raked the dirt floor in their search.

Hunt stood outside with the electrician and her anger began to build.

The inspection didn't uncover a marijuana grow operation, and Hunt
wasn't charged the $5,200 fee, but they wanted her to put up a guard
rail on the property and fix a broken stair. And before the team
left, one of them said they would be back if she didn't reduce her
power consumption. Hunt didn't like the threat.

She faced questions from her neighbours. What were the police doing
parked at the end of your driveway? Why were inspectors in your home?

The perception that Hunt and her family were doing something illegal
had already travelled along the street.

Hunt had always paid her hydro bills and it was none of the
district's business how much power she was buying, she said.

She spoke with others in the community who have gone through a
similar experience, and had researched the district's purpose behind PSIT.

She called the number on the notice to confirm the purpose of the
second inspection was to look for electrical faults to explain the
high power consumption.

When the police officer and the PSIT team pulled up, Hunt walked out
to meet them.

The Mountie remained in his vehicle, and the three inspectors
approached. As calm as she could, Hunt said she was only allowing the
electrician to come onto her property.

The inspectors protested and told her they work as a team for safety purposes.

It's an electrical inspection," Hunt shot back and suggested the
police officer accompany the electrician instead.

Without an entry warrant, the inspectors didn't have a choice. They
moved off the property, but stayed nearby until the electrician, who
worked for a private contractor, was finished.

Hunt showed him the small barn with a heat lamp where chickens are
kept on one side and goats on the other. She also opened up the
small, dilapidated shack where there was no power and showed him the
hydro meter before bringing him inside the house.

She explained that her daughter put curtains up in the doorways and
clear plastic sheeting on the windows to try to stop the heat from
escaping from the old home, which had only single-paned windows.

The electrician examined each wire in the electrical panel and
concluded there was no harm done to the conductor or busbar, but
talked to Hunt about minor issues, such as a missing conductor,
discrepancies in the labelling and some odd-looking work. He
suggested she engage a licensed electrician to address the problems.
He also recommended the wires in the barn be examined.

Since Hunt's daughter moved into the house about a year ago, they
have been consistently consuming electricity at a rate of more than
120 kwh/day.

The average home consumes less than 50 kwh/day, but he noted older
houses with single-paned windows could use closer to 100 kwh/day.
However, he also warned house fire risks increase 25 per cent if a
home uses more than 95 kwh/day. Since Hunt is in that category, he
advised all smoke detectors and fire extinguishers be kept up to date.

Before leaving, the electrician said Hunt would be receiving a letter
from the district confirming an inspection had been performed, but
she would not be charged the inspection fee.

The electrician did his job and left," said Hunt, feeling victorious.