The fleeing residents of Victoria Towers walked through a gateway into an oasis from their emergency.
Gateway Lodge, a seniors assisted living facility two blocks from the 20th Avenue apartment complex, ushered in all the most vulnerable of the displaced residents after a fire forced them from their homes at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday. It was about -7 C. Some had family and friends there quickly to whisk them off to a warm, familiar place. Some were taken to hospital with smoke inhalation symptoms.
But for many, they were alone and underclothed in the elements.
A city bus transported about 35 residents, many of them elderly, to Gateway Lodge. The Complex Care Centre at the Northern Health facility was pressed into service with its large common rooms and plenty of tables and chairs. Food was also made
available.
"This is not one of our standard reception centres but the people at Gateway Lodge were among the first to see the fire," said Brad Beckett, one of the City of Prince George's emergency response officials.
"They rushed over with blankets and other essentials and opened their doors, provided food, and they are meeting so many needs by helping the victims' services efforts."
In the background, RCMP Victim Services co-ordinator Krista Levar was on her cell phone calling different suppliers to gather appropriate clothing for the victims, many of whom only had their pajamas on.
Red Cross volunteers were available in the room, setting up accommodations for those who would not be able to return to their apartment for the next few days.
The Salvation Army had personnel in the room, as did the Ministry of Children and Family Development and staff from the City of Prince George and Northern Health, including medical health officer Dr. William Osei and Gateway Lodge manager Loretta Jackson.
"I wanted to ensure the smoke from the fire was not going to be a health concern for the residents of our facility," said Osei at the scene of the blaze.
"Some at Gateway Lodge have respiratory concerns but we can see that it is OK."
Jackson said it was a pleasure for all the staff, volunteers and residents at the lodge to be able to host a rescue effort.
"One of our nurses saw it happening and just made the choice instantly to open the doors," said Jackson. "I'm very proud of her for taking that initiative to help."
"That's why I'm in Prince George. I lived in an apartment building in Creston and it burned. I needed a place to live so I came to Prince George because my daughter is here," said Dorothy Alderson, one of the Gateway Lodge volunteers who, like the rest of the facility's personnel, was serving with a smile.
Gateway Lodge played host to the homeless Victoria Towers residents until early afternoon when an emergency reception centre was opened in the atrium of the Kin Centres.
Beckett said most people displaced by the fire "would be home by the end of the day" but others would "have to invoke the Provincial Emergency Program measures for incidents like this, which can provide food, clothing and accommodation for up to 72 hours."
He said the last time a large group of displaced residents needed an emergency reception centre was in response to a fire at this same apartment building in 2009, the 2008 fire that destroyed the Columbus Hotel, and the Nechako River ice jams of 2007-08.
