While standing in line waiting to collect belongings from inside a St. James Town highrise that had a six-alarm fire last week, displaced residents said they are “exhausted” and “frustrated.”
About 1,500 people were forced out of their homes at 650 Parliament Street on Tuesday after a massive electrical fire sent thick black smoke through multiple floors.
Most of the units in the building did not sustain significant damage, but the main electrical distribution system was significantly compromised. The entire building currently has no power and officials have said the necessary repairs could take months as an immediate threat to life notice has been issued.
Beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday, residents were able to begin lining up to retrieve basic necessities from their units. All residents had to pre-register for this process at the rear of 260 Wellesley Street prior to getting in line.
“We have arranged for more than 20 security guards to be on hand to escort you to your suites,” a letter issued by property management said. “In preparation for your visit, the ground floor and stairwells will be illuminated, and we are working on having one elevator operational, to speed up the process and make it easier for security guards to help elderly tenants or those with special needs.”
“In addition, quality air testing will be ongoing to ensure the health and wellbeing of everyone in the building.”
But, at around noon, an elderly woman, who was retrieving her belongings from inside the building, had to be taken to hospital. At the time, residents were halted from entering the highrise as officials rechecked the air quality inside.
One resident of the building arrived ahead of doors opening to get a good spot in line. After spending about three hours waiting in line and collecting her belongings on the 23rd floor, she told CP24 the building smelt like smoke and she had to lug her stuff down the stairs.
Another resident arrived at around the same time and said the process of getting inside was “very frustrating.”
“It’s stressful, it’s overwhelming, it’s exhausting and you don’t know what the next move is going to be because you don’t know what’s happening,” she said.
“I’ve been here since around 9:30 a.m. It’s really hard. I have a night shift and I had to take an off-day for my other job in the morning just to be lining up here and getting our important stuff.”
A lot of residents complained saying there has been a lack of communication between officials and tenants.
“You just have to come here and figure it out,” one resident told CP24.
The building is expected to be closed to residents at 8 p.m. and will reopen on Tuesday morning.
The notice to tenants said they are expecting higher demands of entrance in the first week and that is why they are asking residents to only grab essentials. Residents are asked to return later in the week or next week to grab additional items.
