Some Halifax residents have been forced from their homes twice in less than 48 hours after a massive fire destroyed a nearby building, and they aren’t sure when they will be allowed back in.
A fire ripped through the 70-year-old commercial building on Portland Place on Sunday, leaving the brick outer walls unstable. Engineers say they could collapse onto the historic townhomes at any time.
“They said it’d take four or five days to stabilize it from the outside and hold it up and they say they intend to clear out the debris behind it and they, once that’s clear, then they’ll put that wall down,” says David Ballum-Haftka, who owns two of the 12 brick townhomes evacuated Monday evening.
The residences, known as the 12 apostles, were originally built as officers’ quarters for the military in the 1901. They were sold to private owners in the 1950s.
More than 20 residents were told to pack clothes for two or three days, but now they have been told they will need to find a place to stay for two weeks. The Canadian Red Cross is offering some assistance.
Ballum-Haftka says the insurance agent for the burned building was blunt when asked about compensation for costs incurred as a result of the residents’ displacement.
“If we have expenses that we incur, we should call our own private insurance companies and put a claim through our own insurance, and then when it’s all over we can let the insurance companies duke it out,” says Ballum-Haftka.
Investigators with Halifax Regional Fire have now handed the building over to the insurance company inspectors.
There is no word on a cause at this time.
“We’re doing interviews and we’re also working with the owner and others and try to put together the best story we can right now,” says Deputy Fire Chief Roy Hollett.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw
