An uneasy return for Gosford tower residents
26 units reopened after last month’s fatal fire
A number of displaced residents from 235 Gosford were allowed to return to their homes this weekend after a fatal five-alarm five ripped through their apartment complex last month.
On Friday, the landlord, Ronkay Management Inc., announced residents would be able to return to 26 of the building ’s units located on the fourth, ninth, 12th, and 16th floors. The building’s elevators have also been repaired.
The Nov. 15 fire displaced about 350 residents.
Many stayed at community centres in the area, as well as a shelter at York University, until they were moved to hotels Nov. 29 to make way for exam season. The displaced from York University included 17 families, with 11 children.
One person died in the fire and six others were injured.
Currently, 105 units in the 16-storey apartment tower remain closed, with no indication of when more will open.
“We recognize the challenges you have been dealing with and how hard the experience has been,” LuAnn Kay of Ronkay
Management wrote in a letter to residents. “Some clients have departed, which is understandable. Being displaced is extremely disruptive and they must get on with their life. To our departing clients, as always, we wish you well.”
The company also said the building had passed an additional fire safety inspection on Thursday. The Ontario Fire Marshal’s office is still investigating the cause of the fire, which began in the bedroom of an apartment on the eighth floor of the building.
“Though there is no ruling from the Ontario Fire Marshal at this time, it is understood and agreed by the Toronto Fire Service that there was no faults in the design of the building,” Kay wrote. “It was functioning and fully compliant with all municipal building codes and standards.”
The Ontario Fire Marshal could not be reached for comment Sunday. Toronto Fire Services said it couldn’t comment on the statement.
Propane tanks, barbecues, space heaters and air conditioners will be banned from the building. The latter was banned since window air conditioners left in the winter have been prompting heat loss from people’s homes, they said.
That concerns Caryma Sa’d, a lawyer representing tenants. The new rules demand tenants meet conditions not previously agreed upon in their existing leases, but people are complaining about the heating.
“I’m aware many families actually required multiple space heaters because of heating issues,” Sa’d said. “People do want to get back home and resume the normalcy of their lives, but want to do it in a way that’s safe.”
Sa’d is currently representing tenants who may go to the Landlord and Tenant Board over what they say is the landlord’s failure to provide temporary housing to residents. Only about 50 residents were provided hotel accommodations, she said; the rest must fend for themselves.
“There’s still not a lot of transparency, as far as what work has been done and what living conditions will be like for those who return,” she said. The management company could not be reached for comment.