Once a representative of the building's insurer has had a look at the damage, tenants forced out of their apartment by a fire over the weekend should be back in their homes within a matter of days, according to the building's manager.
The blaze at the 1617 Queensway St. building, which broke out in a couch Saturday at about 8:30 p.m., was contained to a single ground floor unit, but 27 tenants had to be evacuated because of the smoke damage.
When an appraiser will be up from Vancouver is not yet known, manager John Currie said early Monday afternoon. But once that step is completed, Currie said it will be a matter of resetting the alarm, washing out the soot, cleaning the carpets and replacing some damaged doors.
"There is no major damage other than smoke," Currie said. "And they can bring in those ionizer air purifiers, drop one on each floor and within a couple of days there's absolutely no odour left."
Currie said most of the tenants found accommodation with friends or had gone to work in camp. "Quite a few" had contents insurance, Currie added.
Just four tenants registered for the city's evacuation support program which provides 72 hours of accommodation, food and transportation, the programs deputy director Brad Beckett said.
That help ends Tuesday but Beckett said they won't be stranded.
"We're not going to throw these people on the street," he said. "If we have to do an extension, we will."
There were no injuries in the blaze.
