DISPLACED BY FIRE
Residents of Westcourt Place displaced by a fire in the basement parking garage are stopped by a Windsor fire official Wednesday as they wait to retrieve items from their apartments, including pets. They will be out of their homes until the weekend.
The many tenants of Westcourt Place in downtown Windsor will have to wait until the weekend — or very possibly longer — before they can return to the building, said Mayor Drew Dilkens.
“I’m dealing with the tenants, I’ve spoken with the tenants,” said the mayor on the steps of the highrise building at 95 Chatham St. East. “But we, too, as the City of Windsor, are tenants in this building.”
The 21-storey structure — which has more than 160 residential units and 30 commercial tenants, including provincial courtrooms and municipal offices — has been without power since a fire in the building’s basement parking garage on Tuesday morning.
Providing an update on the situation on Wednesday, fire Chief Stephen Laforet said a total of seven vehicles on the second basement level were destroyed in the blaze. “The heat would have been extreme,” he said.
Although it was originally suggested that the fire started in one vehicle, Laforet said that hasn’t been confirmed. “We don’t know right now.”
The cause and origin remain under investigation. Members of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office were on the scene on Wednesday.
A full assessment on smoke damage has yet to be completed. Laforet said it’s still too early to estimate the damage in monetary terms.
Dilkens said Enwin electrical equipment in the building was untouched by the fire, allowing power to be restored to the block. But the building’s own electrical distribution system was damaged.
According to Dilkens and the fire department, the owner is required to repair that damage, as the building ’s systems are private property.
“When that is done, the Electrical Safety Authority will inspect the work and issue an authorization to connect and restore power to the building,” Dilkens said.
Dilkens added that there have been concerns the owner of the building may not have “a full understanding of the magnitude of this event and the damage that has been caused.”
“We’re really asking the building owner to take note of what has happened here, and make sure that the insurer is on site as quickly as possible to provide the resources that are needed to get this building up and going.”
Vickie Heyden, the building’s property manager, said she has since spoken with the owner — a company based in Montreal — and she is assured that the seriousness of the situation has been understood.
“They get it now,” Heyden said. Meanwhile, the 200-plus people who live at Westcourt Place are still displaced after the health unit’s evacuation order on Tuesday afternoon.
Laforet said the disruption of the building ’s electrical system affects its heating system and its ability to pump water to its upper levels.
“So we are dealing with a situation of no heat, no electricity, no potable water and the fire alarm system is out. Until that is rectified, there will be no reoccupying the building.”
The City of Windsor has set up a shelter with cots and supplies at the WFCU Centre for those who couldn’t find other accommodations. Dilkens said 26 adults, six children and one pet made use of the facility on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday night, residents were given a one-time window (5 p.m. to 8 p.m.) to visit their apartments to retrieve medication, clothing, toiletries and other items they will need for the duration of their displacement.
The visits required an escort by Windsor Fire and Rescue Services and were conducted one at a time.
“Residents are to plan to pack for their essential needs for 72 hours or more,” the fire department said in a statement on Wednesday. “No further access to the Westcourt building will take place after 8 p.m. this evening.”
Temporary work space is being secured for the displaced provincial courts and offices.
More information on the court facilities will be available on the city’s website (citywindsor.ca) or by calling 311.
Dilkens thanked all community partners who have had a hand in dealing with the situation, including Windsor Fire and Rescue Services, Windsor Police Service, Essex-windsor EMS, City of Windsor Social Services, Red Cross, the Humane Society, and Enwin Utilities.
“Windsor did what it always does,” Dilkens said. “We stepped up. We came together to assist those in need.”