'We're all on our own': Tenants forced to leave following Winnipeg apartment building blaze

Reverend Susan Smandych loved her suite on the 10th floor of an apartment building in Winnipeg's River-Osborne area.

But after a fire on the building's roof last week left the units with significant smoke and water damage, Smandych and other tenants will have to find a new place to call home and quickly.

"We're all on our own to basically go and find both temporary accommodation as well as permanent accommodation," she told CBC on Friday, just over a week since the fire forced residents out of their homes.

"It's very, like, chaotic. I'm basically going from place to place," she said.

A letter sent Aug. 20 to tenants from the building's property manager, P3 Realty, said all tenant leases are terminated effective Aug. 17, "due to the fire and the uninhabitability status of 221 Stradbrook Avenue."

Security and pet deposits as well as pro-rated rent owing for August will be returned to tenants, the letter said.

More than 20 units from the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic service responded to the blaze just before 7 p.m. Aug. 17. The fire was under control about 45 minutes later, with crews using the building's standpipe system to pour water onto the flames.

WATCH| Firefighters fight highrise blaze

Aerial drone shows firefighters tackling Winnipeg highrise blaze

1 year ago

Duration 2:35

Video shot by an aerial drone shows Winnipeg firefighters battling a fire on the roof of a residential highrise at 221 Stradbrook Ave. on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. The drone was piloted by construction worker Tameem Safi, who was working on the street below when the fire started.

Fire damage was confined mostly to the roof, but water made its way down through the stairwell and elevator shafts.

One person was sent to hospital in unstable condition for smoke inhalation, and a firefighter was also taken to hospital in stable condition.

Smandych said she's been staying with friends and family over the past week while scrambling to find a permanent home a difficult task when some 170 other tenants are trying to find housing at the same time, she said.

"Uncertainty is kind of like the whole theme of this week," said Smandych, who was living in the building for a year. "It's just hard to kind of keep switching gears."

The letter said tenants from floors two to 10 could access their suite during a designated 20-minute time slot to gather their belongings. Large items like TV and furniture must stay, the letter added.

Smandych said she gathered her things Tuesday.

"It's very stressful to be going to your unit, see the damage and then trying to like quickly strategize what to get out, what to kind of salvage because we don't know when we're going to go have access to go back in," she said.

While Smandych said she's grateful to have rental insurance, not all tenants, including 15th floor resident Jarid Kallusky do.

"[It's] something that I'm gonna look into," he said, adding that the building was well-maintained and management handled the aftermath of the fire well.

Kallusky said he's been staying with friends and family too since the fire. While some clothes and other items in his suite were damp and there was some soot on the floor, Kallusky said he feels lucky.

"It could have been way more damaged," he said.