Flooded apartment leaves some residents homeless Police investigate after pipe dislodged inside downtown highrise By: Nicole Buffie Posted: 4:48 PM CDT Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024 Last Modified: 5:31 PM CDT Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024 Updates

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With water flowing everywhere, Michelle Szajewski had just enough time to grab her cat and a few important items before getting out of her downtown apartment building.

The unwelcome surprise Monday morning forced Szajewski and dozens of other residents to evacuate Holiday Towers, a 25-storey building on Hargrave Street.

“I came back to alarms going off and water gushing from the ceiling of the lobby and elevator,” Szajewski said Wednesday. “I’m homeless right now.”

In a post on its website, WRE Development, the property manager of the building, said the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service ordered all tenants to vacate their suites after a “significant flooding incident” Monday.

WFPS crews were called to the downtown complex around 11:45 a.m. after a sprinkler system alarm went off, deputy chief Jason Shaw said.

Firefighters found a standpipe on the 12th floor had been dislodged. The pipe connects to fire hoses and is used as a water supply to fight fires.

“We don’t know how it was opened, or who opened it, or why it was open, but it wasn’t due to our needs for fire suppression,” Shaw said Wednesday.

Crews were able to shut off the water flow, but the building’s power was disabled and some parts of the building sustained significant damage.

“All that water affected the critical infrastructure of the building,” Shaw said.

The building was evacuated and about 230 residents were assessed by the city’s emergency social services team, Shaw said.

The flood is being investigated by the Winnipeg police, public information officer Const. Dani McKinnon said Wednesday.

Meals on Wheels is stationed on the main floor of the complex and had to take down its systems for the afternoon, but was up and running the following morning, executive director Marla Somersall said.

“There was water coming down the walls and in the carpets… we lost some ceiling tiles. We don’t know the damage in the walls yet,” Somersall said.

Szajewski, who has lived on the eighth floor since April, stayed at a hotel Monday night, but couldn’t afford another evening and ended up sleeping in the adjoining apartment building’s lobby Tuesday.

Since the evacuation, Szajewski has been experiencing panic attacks and non-stop crying and says she has received no communication from the building managers.

“This has been affecting me so much,” she said. “The management is keeping us in the dark.”

“All that water affected the critical infrastructure of the building.”–Jason Shaw, WFPS

WRE originally said on its website there was no timeline for residents to return to their suites. An updated notice said residents of the 14th floor and above were allowed back home.

“We need to assess the damage and have the proper contractors complete the repairs,” the notice said, adding WRE was working to have the issue fixed “as quickly as possible” and advised tenants to reach out to their insurance companies for assistance.

Multiple requests for comment from WRE went unanswered Wednesday.

Shaw said the WFPS is working with the building manager to provide information and support displaced tenants in a timely manner and to get people back in their apartments.

“There was a lot of hard-working people and there was a lot of residents that were wanting to speak to the building owners and trying to get information,” Shaw said. “These are trying times and you need to be empathetic, because this displacement really causes a lot of hurt and concern.”

Meantime, tenants of other evacuated buildings in Winnipeg continue to live in limbo.

Last week, residents of Birchwood Terrace were told their October move-in date was pushed back again, as per an updated schedule from the building’s contractor.

“We still don’t know when occupancy will be permitted in the building,” a letter addressed to tenants and obtained by the Free Press stated.

Workers have only recently completed inspections of most of the Portage Avenue building’s structural columns, which were found to be rotting, the letter said. That prompted the emergency evacuation of hundreds in May.

“This has been affecting me so much.”–Michelle Szajewski, tenant

Crews have only recently determined the amount of repair work required before the building can be stabilized and inspected.

Lakewood plans to provide another update on Sept. 12, the letter states.

Across town, all tenants of a St. John’s neighbourhood apartment who were unlawfully evicted have returned home.

Residents of Stratford Hall, a three-storey block at 285 College Ave., were abruptly ordered to leave July 12, resulting in an investigation by the Residential Tenancies Branch.

A week later, the provincial government intervened, issuing the building’s landlord 32 noncompliance orders. Security was also brought in to monitor the building 24/7 and ensure people could safely return.

The province said Wednesday it has issued administrative penalties totalling $9,000 to the building’s owner, who the Free Press identified as Kelly Vasas.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca