The story behind Burnaby’s fake house

At first glance, the home on the corner of Frances Street and Ingleton Avenue in Burnaby’s Heights neighbourhood doesn’t really stick out.

Initially, it seems like it has all the features of a regular house. But if you take a closer look, you’ll notice something peculiar about this home—because it’s fake.

A 2017 Vancouver Sun article points out that upon further inspection, passersby will notice the house doesn’t have any windows and as you get close, you’ll hear a “low, humming sound” coming from the building.

As noted by Vancouver historian Eve Lazarus, there’s been some pretty wild rumours about the home in the past. Some have said it’s a government safe house, while others say it’s a pet crematorium.

So what is the story behind the fake house and why is it there?

Turns out the building is owned by CN Rail and is actually a ventilation station masked as a home.

The Sun notes that the reason for disguising the ventilation systems is because, apparently, CN didn’t want an “unsightly concrete box” in the area. So the land was rezoned to Equipment Shop Building usage in order for the ventilation station to look like a home on a residential street.

The house is located about 45 metres above the 3.4km Thornton Tunnel. Built in 1968, the tunnel stretches from the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge, travels under Burnaby, and connects to a main line.

The ventilation system works to clear any locomotive exhaust out of the tunnel after each train travels through it so there is enough oxygen for the operators of the next train.

There are fans and ventilation machines located inside the home that push the air down into the tunnel via a shaft system.

Have you spotted this house and always felt there was something peculiar about it? Do you know of any other strange Burnaby homes or mysteries we should look into? Let us know here. 

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