Evacuees from the Bridges Supportive Housing fire yesterday were able to find temporary accommodation until Saturday.
The Complex fire forced over 20 residents to evacuate and one resident to the hospital on October 16, just before 2 p.m. Quesnel Fire and RCMP arrived on the scene quickly.
Jeff Norburn, Director of Community Services for the City of Quesnel, says that Emergency Support Services (ESS) were able to provide some assistance for those needing food, life essentials, and cots for the evacuees. Incidental vouchers that are good up to three days were handed to evacuees. Housing and shelter are difficult with the pulp mill closures.
“There was an issue with hotel capacity in Quesnel largely because of the pulp mill shutdowns,” Norburn says. “We were not able to provide accommodation services through ESS, but the service provider of the complex was able to make arrangements to have a group lodging site set up for the people who were evacuated.”
Executive Director of Quesnel Shelter and Support Society (QSSS), Tammy Janzen, with the help of the community was able to organize temporary lodging for Bridges Residents at the Echen Healing Society.
“We were able to reach out to some service providers in the community and thankfully Echen Healing Society were more than willing to help us out and met us at their hall,” Janzen says. “We coordinated a group lodging for folks because there was not enough hotel rooms. We’ve got cots and blankets that were supplied by the City. Staff are reporting for duty on site there [Echen].”
Janzen says that there was significant water damage to at least one of the units and the second floor of the housing complex. But Janzen is thankful that the building “did what the building should have done” and the sprinkler systems contained the fire well.
A restoration company is working with QSSS through the night and day to get Bridges cleared within the three days of the City’s incidental vouchers. Janzen is hopeful that will happen.
“We’re hopeful that we can that we will get back within the three days,” Janzen says. “There is more damage in a couple of units due to the water. But we do have some open rooms within the building that we’re hopeful that everybody can come home.”
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