CARBONEAR, N.L. — David Kennedy lives next door to the charred remains of the house in southeastern Newfoundland where a five-year-old girl died last April.
He is also a councillor for the Town of Carbonear and says many neighbours, along with the girl's mother, want the property torn down.
"It's just a constant reminder for everybody," Kennedy said Friday in an interview. "It's a constant reminder for myself and my family.
"We were the first ones out that morning. We heard the popping and cracking."
Kennedy said they called 911 after noise from the powerful blaze woke them around 5 a.m. on April 24, a Sunday morning. He has two boys, aged 11 and 13.
"They witnessed probably more than what they should have."
Quinn Butt died while staying with her father, Trent Butt, who now faces charges of first-degree murder and arson. A preliminary hearing is to start in court in January.
Kennedy said it's not clear who is now responsible for the property. The girl's mother had not lived in the house for two years while the couple was in the midst of a divorce, he said.
Kennedy speaks to her frequently and said it appears the original mortgage lender, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce or CIBC, has collected default insurance due to payments missed by Trent Butt in the months before Quinn's death.
An official with the bank said Friday it would look into concerns about the house, including debris in the garden and food inside that Kennedy says was never removed.
In a statement Friday, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said it "understands that this situation is of importance to the community."
"However, the property in question is not held by CMHC as the lender has not yet made a claim on the property nor has it applied to transfer (it) to CMHC. As such, there is no action that CMHC can take" regarding its condition, said the statement from spokesman Jonathan Rotondo.
The agency is in touch with the lender, however, and is ready to help resolve the matter, it said.
Kennedy said neighbours are concerned the house will remain in limbo indefinitely as a painful reminder of what happened there last spring.
"One of the more upsetting things is, directly across the road, are two elderly neighbours. They were very traumatized."
"Every time they look out through the front window, every time they go to their car, they have to see it."
