Evacuated apartment residents relocated to long-term housing

Oct 12, 2017 | 1:00 PM

Several families forced out of their apartment complex following a fire have now been set up in long-term residences.

The fire broke out Oct. 3 at an apartment building on 28th St. E. and caused significant damage to several units. According to Andrew Cunningham, spokesperson for building owners Avenue Living, 15 suites were evacuated after the fire. The displaced residents were moved to another Avenue Living property over the long weekend, Cunningham said, but all the evacuees have since been resettled into long-term accommodations.

“Everyone is back in long-term residence,” Cunningham said. “We still have no update on the fire marshal’s investigation, but we’re obviously eagerly anticipating that.”

To help ease the transition into their new homes, Cunningham said Avenue Living has extended six months of free utilities to all of the affected tenants.

The building itself, Cunningham said, is in bad shape. The building’s electrical system and boiler will need to be replaced and a lot of the plumbing also requires repair. Nothing at all could be salvaged from the two most badly-damaged units, Cunningham said.

“They were just completely destroyed,” he said. “Luckily, both tenants had insurance.”

Despite the scope of the damage, Cunningham said the building can be restored. He said the work will likely begin within a month, and the apartment should be renovated and ready to accept tenants again in by the spring.

 

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews