Residents Will Be Allowed Back In Highrise – But Only For A Few Minutes
Posted July 25, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s not quite as good as coming home permanently but they’ll take it – residents forced out of their apartments at 2 Secord Ave. will be allowed to return on Saturday. But they won’t be there for long.
The displaced tenants will only be able to stay for a few minutes to gather their belongings and possessions, before being taken out again.
Nearly 1,000 families had to flee with just the clothes on their backs last Sunday after an explosion in a hydro vault left potentially toxic air circulating in the complex.
Since then, they’ve been forced to live with either relatives, at hotels or in an emergency shelter set up in a nearby school – all the while trying to keep their families together while going to their jobs and trying to live a regular life in the face of a very irregular existence.
But now tests show the air is safe, allowing for the brief return.
“The tenants will be allowed to get into their units for a period of time to pick up essentials,” explains Bill Hiscott of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office. “This won’t be an opportunity of course to move out the building and move all the furniture, but just to get the essentials that they need to carry on their day-to-day lives.”
Residents will have to use the west staircase to get into and out of the Dawes and Danforth area highrise and they won’t be going in alone. Because of ongoing security concerns with so many empty apartments filled with valuables, police will be accompanying everyone to be sure there are no problems.
Many say it’s been a nightmare but officials admit they won’t be waking up from it anytime soon. It could be weeks before they’ll know when or if they can go back for good, although progress on repairs is said to be going much faster than expected.
To keep up on the latest from the scene, click here.
Tenants with questions can call Toronto Public Health this weekend from 10am to 4:30pm at (416) 338-7600.
Cheques to help those in need can be made to:
Toronto Office of Partnerships,
Metro Hall,
First Floor,
55 John St.
Toronto
M5V 3C6.
Donations can also be given at the following RBC Royal Bank branches:
2780 Danforth Ave.
(Danforth Avenue and Dawes Road)
2076 Danforth Ave.
(Danforth Avenue and Woodbine Avenue)
