Tenants relocated after highrise blaze are on the move again

Thirty-four residents, displaced by a fatal five-alarm fire earlier this month in North York and housed in an emergency shelter at York University, are being moved again.

Seventeen families, including 11 children, have been staying in a gym in a building at York’s campus near Jane Street and Steeles Avenue West, where they’ve been provided with food, shelter and personal services, since the Nov. 15 fire at 235 Gosford Blvd. But city officials confirmed that, because the gym will be required as a space for student exams, the space won’t be available as a shelter for the 34 residents beyond end of day Friday. That is also the end of the 14-day period during which the city provides support for displaced residents.

Late Thursday, city spokesperson Brad Ross confirmed the residents are being moved to hotels. The landlord will pay the costs for December, but tenants will be asked to pay their regular rent, and that money will go towards the hotel fees, Ross said in an interview.

It’s unclear when tenants will be able to return to the building for good.

The landlord, Ronkay Management Inc. did not immediately reply Thursday to a request for comment.

The fire displaced about 354 residents. About 100 people were forced to sleep at the Driftwood Community Centre for two nights. A group of tenants were then moved from there to the gym inside the Tait McKenzie Centre at York.

One person died in the fire.