Dozens forced out of their homes after apartment fire in Grande Prairie
Several residents at Margaret Edgson Manor had mobility issues, city says
An apartment fire in Grande Prairie has forced dozens of people, including several with mobility issues, out of their homes.
Emergency crews responded to the fire at Margaret Edgson Manor shortly after midnight on Monday. Some residents were helped in evacuating from the building, according to a news release from the City of Grande Prairie.
The 70-unit apartment building, located near the city's hospital, provides affordable housing. Sixteen of the units are fully wheelchair accessible.
Some residents were taken to the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital to be assessed or treated, the city said.
"I would suggest that one of the higher consequence scenarios have a multi-storey apartment building such as this with … individuals with barriers to mobility," said Mark VanWerkhoven, Grande Prairie's fire chief.
"But in consideration of all of the factors, the weather, the wind last night, this could have been a much more tragic situation."
Between 20 and 40 individuals are in need of temporary accommodations. The hospital is providing short-term temporary housing for some, and arrangements are being made with local hotels for longer-term accommodations, the city said.
The total number of affected residents is still being confirmed, the city said.
In a news release Monday afternoon, RCMP said they were able to assist with the evacuation of over 68 residents. Police are reporting that three people received minor injuries.
Lisa Reid has been a resident of of the apartment complex for almost two years now, and is currently staying at a nearby hotel.
She said many residents didn't react to the alarm at first, after the apartment had multiple previous fire alarms that turned out to be false.
"When I went to get out of the door of the building, I looked up and I could see the flames coming over the roof already. It had only been 10 minutes," she said.
Many of the residents who relied on the apartment for affordable rents and accessibility were seniors and low-income families. She said this fire leaves them in a vulnerable position.
"Everyone's just displaced, we're just kind of lost," she said. "We know there's not a lot of availability especially for accessible places in the city, and overall, rents are really high."
With no firm deadline on when residents can return, and what the next steps are, Reid said she's just grateful all of her neighbours are safe.
"But overall, we're still in fairly good spirits. I made my focus on helping others that were out there," she said.
The fire has been brought under control and investigators are working to determine the cause.
Grande Prairie is about 450 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
