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Over 100 people, including seniors, families with children and many people on low incomes will remain out of their homes over Christmas and face the daunting prospect of searching for new places to live in the new year, following a fire in a North Vancouver apartment building Tuesday morning.
“What we do know is everybody in the building will need support for an indefinite period of time,” North Shore Emergency Management director Emily Dicken said on Friday.
About half of the families who lived in the older apartment building at 260 - 12th Street East are staying with family and friends over the holidays while longer-term plans get sorted out, said Dicken. The rest of residents have been temporarily put up in hotels and motels, including some on the North Shore and others in hotel-style dorm rooms out at UBC.
Province extends emergency help to fire victims
The province has extended temporary emergency help for housing through to Jan. 15 for residents displaced by the fire. Normally that help is only available for 72-hours following an emergency.
North Vancouver MLA Bowinn Ma, recently appointed minster of emergency management and climate readiness, said City of North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan asked the province for extra help for residents within hours of the apartment fire.
“I know it’s an incredibly stressful situation,” said Ma. The extension of help from the province “gives people a little bit more room to breathe,” she said.
Firefighters from all three fire departments on the North Shore raced to the three-storey apartment building in the central Lonsdale area after alarms went off around 6 a.m.
Witnesses reported flames coming out of windows and through the roof of the building. All residents were safely evacuated, but the building sustained significant fire, smoke and water damage.
Fire chief Greg Schalk said the fire started on the first floor, likely in a concealed space behind a wall or in a ceiling. The exact cause hasn’t been determined, but Schalk said it was most likely accidental.
Building can't be occupied
Schalk said the fire caused significant damage to the central core of the building, including damage to the building’s electrical, gas and water services. That means there won’t be any occupancy allowed in the foreseeable future, said Schalk, as property managers, insurance adjusters and restoration companies assess the damage.
Dicken said she’s told the residents to start looking for other housing as soon as possible.
Other social agencies like BC Housing are helping with the search, but authorities acknowledge that isn’t going to be easy.
Many of the families living in the building are on low and middle incomes and were paying rents substantially below what is usually available on the North Shore, Ma acknowledged.
Finding affordable rentals a challenge
“Housing on the North Shore is absolutely a challenge,” she said. “Let alone on lower incomes.”
Julie Nahanee said her best friend and that friend's mother were among the families evacuated from their apartment Tuesday. For now, her friend has been able to stay with another friend, while her mother – and two elderly cats – have been put up in a hotel in Vancouver close to the Ironworkers bridge, she said.
But the longer-term situation remains worrying, she said. “After Jan. 15 is a big question mark,” she said. “The emails I’ve seen said it’s going to be months and months and months of repairs if it’s salvageable at all.”
“The reality is it is difficult,” Ma acknowledged of the situation. She said BC Housing will work with displaced residents to help find other places to live. Realistically, though, residents usually have better luck if they’re willing to move off the North Shore, she added.
Starting next week, firefighters will be scheduling times when residents can be escorted into the building and retrieve more of their personal possessions.
Some lost items of sentimental value are irreplaceable, said Dicken. “It’s devastating to people when they’ve lost things that can’t be replaced.”
Only a few of the tenants had insurance, she added.
Fundraising campaign established
Dicken said a fundraising campaign to help the displaced residents is being coordinated by St. Andrews United Church, which will ensure any money is split equally between families displaced by the fire.
While some people have offered clothing and furniture, Dicken said those items aren’t needed at this point. Besides offers of permanent accommodation, when it comes to helping, money is the best donation, she said.
Cash donations can be made in person at St. Andrew’s United Church during office hours: Monday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The church is located at 1044 St. Georges Ave. The church also accepts e-transfers which can be sent to [email protected]. The church asks anyone making a donation to indicate “Fire Donation” with your contribution, and include your name and address if you would like to receive a charitable tax receipt for any amount over $25.
