VANCOUVER, B.C. – Some residents at an affordable housing tower in Vancouver’s West End says they feel let down after a fire Tuesday afternoon ripped through a seventh floor unit.
Kurt Baumkirchner reached out to CTV News when he realized the tower’s elevators weren’t working and he hadn’t been checked on, saying a number of residents have not had formal wellness checks since the fire.
“We were told by the fire department to shelter in place,” Baumkirchner said Wednesday. “Then a fireman came and did one check on us and told us to stay sheltering in place, someone would come talk to us – but no one ever came up.”
He lives on the 18th floor, and while the 68-year-old has been going up and down the stairs, he’s concerned about neighbours who were essentially trapped on their floors.
“No one has done anything to check on any of the residents in the building,” Baumkirchner said. “The building management has done nothing. No services have come to ask any questions and there are tonnes of handicapped people stuck there with no elevator.”
While some residents CTV News spoke with off camera had similar experiences, displaced resident Mike Verney said he is withholding judgment given the fire had happened within 24 hours at the time of an interview. He has been temporarily relocated to a nearby hotel and says he feels he has been treated appropriately in the aftermath of the fire.
“There were people from BC Emergency Services that were here, BC Housing people were here, they took us down to the West End Community Centre,” Verney said.
While some water got into his unit, Verney was relieved to find that his beloved piano appeared to be undamaged – remarkable given his unit is directly below the apartment where the fire started.
Since CTV News spoke with Baumkirchner, building operator The Bloom Group said one small elevator is now working, which should provide relief to some of those residents.
Over the phone, chief executive Wayne Henderson expressed gratitude that nobody died in the fire, and said he was thankful for the response of various agencies and his staff.
Asked about the fire on Wednesday, Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon also said he was “grateful that people are not seriously injured.”
“I understand Vancouver emergency support services are in place right now supporting 25 individuals and we’ll see what the assessment of the building is very soon, but we’re going to find ways to support people the best we can,” Kahlon said.
In the meantime, Baumkirchner is hoping that’s true – as he remains concerned for others who live in the building.
