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‘We’re down to weeks’: Some residents may soon be able to return to fire-damaged Gosford highrise
Tenants displaced by a massive fire last month gathered at Christian Centre Church, a few metres away from their apartment, for a holiday party Thursday night.Days after a 5-alarm fire tore through the apartment building at 235 Gosford Blvd., the 15-storey high rise remains visibly damaged. (Keith Burgess/CBC)Mayor John Tory says some of the tenants…
Tenants displaced by a massive fire last month gathered at Christian Centre Church, a few metres away from their apartment, for a holiday party Thursday night.
Mayor John Tory says some of the tenants displaced by a massive at 235 Gosford Blvd fire last month may soon be able to return to their homes in a matter of weeks.
Tory made the announcement to reporters at a holiday gathering for displaced residents Thursday night at the Christian Centre Church, less than a kilometre away from the apartment building. The mayor added that, for tenants of about 24 units in the building, the wait could be much longer. Those units were severely damaged by the blaze, he said, and could take months to repair.
The Nov. 15 five-alarm fire, killed one person, injured six others and displaced about 700 residents on November 15.
Coun. Anthony Perruzza, who hosted the party, said it was made possible by the community, who brought the food.
“It's Christmas, we wanted to do an event just to sort of bring a little cheer into these folks' lives,” Perruzza told CBC Toronto.
“It's been a very trying experience for them, been forced out of their homes; forced out of their lives. Many of them are still sort of living in a make-shift situation in a hotel and they don't quite know when or how they're going to get back into their homes and into their lives.”
Also in attendance were police officers and firefighters who brought gifts for the children.
Mayor John Tory was also there and said the party was to assure the residents they had not been forgotten.
“It was important that we do something to bring these people together … to say this community cares about you deeply and we are sorry that your Christmas will be memorable but not in the way that anybody would like.” Tory said.
Some tenants have been staying in hotels after they were housed in a shelter set up by the city at York University.
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