The eyesore that was the remains of Salmon Arm’s 7-Eleven has been torn down.
A demolition crew was at the site of the former building, located on the Trans-Canada Highway, on Wednesday morning, May 22.
An excavator levelled the structure that had been sitting derelict since it burned in August 2018. The fire started after a car crashed into the front of the building and spread very quickly. No one was hurt by the blaze.
A release from the RCMP three days after the fire stated the vehicle was driven into the front of the store and then a suspect poured gasoline inside the store and set it on fire.
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Kenneth Robert Laforge, 37, faces charges including arson damaging property, arson in relation to inhabited property, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and mischief to property over $5,000 in relation to the fire.
The property is owned by Imperial Oil and leased by the convenience store chain. 7-Eleven has told the City of Salmon Arm they are interested in relocating elsewhere in town.
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Prior to the demolition, Salmon Arm Mayor Alan Harrison and council submitted a letter to Imperial Oil and 7-Eleven Canada, noting the city had received numerous inquiries about the former store as to whether it would be re-opening or demolished.
“The property is located in the downtown core and is very visible in our community,” Harrison explained in the letter.
Harrison and the city received a response by Victor Vrsnik with 7-Eleven’s corporate affairs department, assuring the building would be demolished before the May long weekend.
@SalmonArm
jim.elliot@saobserver.net
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