The fire at Victoria Towers has gone from minor inconvenience to one of the biggest residential
disasters in known Prince George history.
Sixty units have effectively been deemed unfit to live in, and more than 80 people are now homeless and cut off from almost all their belongings.
The Nov. 3 fire was largely confined to one apartment in the 12-storey building, with some flame incursion to the unit above. The fire department confirmed there was some water damage and even more smoke damage, but heading into the weekend, City-led emergency response organizers were confident most residents would be back home in a matter of a few days.
That ended on Monday, and was disclosed to the general public on Wednesday. No one will get to go home for quite some time, and almost all their possessions have been destroyed.
The culprit, The Citizen was told, was toxic asbestos smoke that permeated the entire building.
"The property owner [Pacific West Properties out of Vancouver], through the insurance adjuster, has deemed that extensive restoration work will be required to the building," said City of Prince George spokesman Mike Davis. "It is expected that the restoration work could take some time."
The provincial government's emergency services benefits - hotel, transportation, basic clothing allowances, etc. - are in place for 72 hours following an acknowledged disaster. The province gave a three-day extension last week, then another, and now they have taken what Davis said was the unusual step of confirming coverage at least until Wednesday.
However, the displacement is assuredly going to go on for a great deal of time past that, and Davis said no plan was in place for when that emergency support service ends.
Other agencies are stepping into the issue in a bigger way. The Red Cross and Salvation Army have been involved in helping the Victoria Towers refugees since the moment the fire alarms sounded, but on Wednesday the Red Cross announced it would operate a "resilience centre" at their offices (1399 6th Ave., call 250-564-6566.) for those tenants requiring assistance and support for securing housing and other services, including
counselling.
Most of the 80-plus people affected have family or friends to stay with, but a significant number are spread among five hotels.
Donations needed
As of today, the Salvation Army will be co-ordinating the biggest single furniture and clothing drive in city history. They have gotten the keys for the former Bubba Baloos building at Parkhill Centre to be the headquarters of this
operation.
It will only run for three days - today, Friday and Saturday - between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
"We will be opening this warehouse for the community to donate new beds, kitchen tables and chairs, and living room furniture for those who have been displaced," said Salvation Army Capt. Neil Wilkinson.
"We are looking at about 60 units to rebuild.
"Because of the asbestos, the smoke could contain toxins. It is not advisable to reuse anything contaminated by the smoke, so there are many who are homeless and need to get back on their feet."
Food and cash are also key items needed. Wilkinson was told it will be a minimum of a month before anyone might return home to the apartment building on 20th Avenue, and probably longer.
"I've been involved in instances like this in other communities so unfortunately I was not surprised by this," Wilkinson said.
Attempts to reach the property owners were unsuccessful.
