Amanda Grant, who owns the building with her husband Todd, said the 10-apartment structure is a total write-off and their insurance company has told them it must come down.
The owners are more concerned about the tenants than the property.
Fire swept through the building on the night of June 11, leaving roughly one dozen people living in the eight occupied apartments homeless. Not only were they left with no place of their own, many lost nearly all their possessions in the fire.
The Grants were permitted to re-enter the building since the fire and tried to find some of the irreplaceable, sentimental items their tenants told them had been left behind.
“They weren’t worried about their TVs and beds or other things that can be replaced,” said Amanda Grant.
They were able to salvage some of those things, but not all.
In terms of their most basic necessities, the displaced tenants have had to practically start over. The Canadian Red Cross, as they are wont to do in such situations, has stepped in and helped the fire victims.
The Grants held a fund-raiser this past weekend and were able to round up a lot more things to distribute, but said more needs to be done to get the tenants back on their feet.
“I am asking any of the furniture companies or grocery stores or whoever to maybe donate gift cards to help these people out,” said Grant. “Some of them have lost all of their personal identification documents and things that will cost them money to get back. So if they didn’t have to worry about buying food or other things, they might be able to free up more of their money to do what they have to do. Every little bit helps.”
Anyone who would like to help can contact the Canadian Red Cross or get in touch with Grant directly at 638-1069.
As for the future of the apartment building site, Grant said she and her husband are not yet sure if they will rebuild.
“We have been so busy trying to make sure everyone is OK that we haven’t had much time to think about that yet,” she said.
Grant said her insurance company has told her that the suspected cause of the fire was a charging cellphone that overheated while covered with bedding or some other material.
Amanda Grant, who owns the building with her husband Todd, said the 10-apartment structure is a total write-off and their insurance company has told them it must come down.
The owners are more concerned about the tenants than the property.
Fire swept through the building on the night of June 11, leaving roughly one dozen people living in the eight occupied apartments homeless. Not only were they left with no place of their own, many lost nearly all their possessions in the fire.
The Grants were permitted to re-enter the building since the fire and tried to find some of the irreplaceable, sentimental items their tenants told them had been left behind.
“They weren’t worried about their TVs and beds or other things that can be replaced,” said Amanda Grant.
They were able to salvage some of those things, but not all.
In terms of their most basic necessities, the displaced tenants have had to practically start over. The Canadian Red Cross, as they are wont to do in such situations, has stepped in and helped the fire victims.
The Grants held a fund-raiser this past weekend and were able to round up a lot more things to distribute, but said more needs to be done to get the tenants back on their feet.
“I am asking any of the furniture companies or grocery stores or whoever to maybe donate gift cards to help these people out,” said Grant. “Some of them have lost all of their personal identification documents and things that will cost them money to get back. So if they didn’t have to worry about buying food or other things, they might be able to free up more of their money to do what they have to do. Every little bit helps.”
Anyone who would like to help can contact the Canadian Red Cross or get in touch with Grant directly at 638-1069.
As for the future of the apartment building site, Grant said she and her husband are not yet sure if they will rebuild.
“We have been so busy trying to make sure everyone is OK that we haven’t had much time to think about that yet,” she said.
Grant said her insurance company has told her that the suspected cause of the fire was a charging cellphone that overheated while covered with bedding or some other material.
