Future uncertain for Massey Manor residents

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This article was published 20/05/2018 (2697 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been more than 24 hours since a fire destroyed three buildings in downtown Brandon.

But for the residents of Massey Manor, a Pacific Avenue apartment building that was forced to evacuate on Saturday, the future brings more questions than it does answers.

“Last night it didn’t really hit me,” said Justin Verinder, who has lived at Massey for three years. “And then when I woke up this morning I immediately started crying as soon as I got out of bed.”

Verinder is one of the approximately 200 residents of Massey Manor who are in search of a new home after a fire burned through the building’s rooftop and destroyed the Christie’s Office Plus building across the street.

A beer vendor and former night club at Rosser Avenue and Fifth Street was also destroyed, as well as the Collyer’s Sales and Service, Brandon Boxing Club and Kazic Kontracting building on Pacific Avenue.

To date, more than 130 people have sought help through the Red Cross, with some being housed temporarily at the Victoria Inn and Clarion Hotel.

“I didn’t just lose my stuff, I lost my whole life,” Verinder said. “I don’t even know how to deal with this.”

Verinder was with his two kids, a five-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl, in their main floor apartment when the fire alarm went off at Massey.

He thought it was a false alarm, as has often happened in the building, and it wasn’t until he saw a huge cloud of smoke outside that he realized they had to leave.

His backup plan is to stay with his father. It’s unclear whether any of his personal belongings made it in the fire, like photos of his kids with Santa or his piano.

As tears began to run down his face, a woman came by and gave him $20 to help him buy new toys for his children.

Still unknown is how long he and the other evacuees will be allowed to stay at the hotel. There is talk that they may only be there until the long weekend is over. “Some people are going to be completely homeless,” he said.

Joe Hamilton was watching TV in his main floor apartment — his home for the last six years — when he heard the fire alarm go off. “I jumped up thinking it was a false alarm because it happens quite often,” he said. “But I looked out my window and saw smoke and I knew we had to get out.”

Like Verinder, Hamilton was also concerned about what he may have lost: old photo albums, IDs, his clothes.

But like many, he said he was “in the dark” about how long he would be allowed to stay at the Victoria Inn. “I’m still in shock I think.”

Sitting on the floor outside the Grand Salon, Monique Ward waited to see if she could get a room at the Victoria Inn.

Ward, who has lived at Massey for two years with her daughter, wasn’t at home when the fire started and all she could think about was what may have happened to her cat Squid.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said. “I don’t have any means of moving, so I don’t know.”

Massey Manor is jointly owned and operated by the Brandon Friendship Centre, Canadian Mental Health Association and Manitoba Housing.

A former agricultural supply store and warehouse, Massey was converted to apartments in recent years through a partnership between the Friendship Centre, CMHA and Habitat for Humanity.

It’s unclear if residents will be able to get their belongings or if the building will continue to be habitable, but so far there have been no reported injuries.

In a statement, the City of Brandon said the Brandon Emergency Response Team and the Office of the Fire Commissioner did an initial inspection of Massey Manor on Sunday afternoon, with significant water accumulation on each floor still needing to drain.

“As such, the building is not safe for occupant re-entry at this time,” the statement read.

A cause for the fire has not been determined, but both the OFC and Brandon Police Service are investigating.

On Sunday, Manitoba Minister of Crown Services Cliff Cullen joined other local politicians and fire personnel in Brandon to look at the damage and although he did not say how long residents would be allowed to stay in temporary housing, Cullen said their safety was of the utmost concern.

“Obviously, we will be working with our government through our families branch to see what we can do in the longer term and certainly we will do everything we can to accommodate those people,” he said.

The fire is believed to have started at around noon at Christie’s, an office and school supplies company that was founded in Brandon in 1881, with winds carrying embers over to the Massey building, the beer vendor and the Collyer’s building.

Brandon firefighters were assisted by the Souris-Glenwood, Oakland-Wawanesa and CFB Shilo fire departments, as well as Manitoba Hydro and the OFC.

Most of the fires were put out within several hours, with crews remaining on scene to put out any remaining hot spots.

Firefighters stayed at the Collyer’s building overnight to control a stubborn fire and by Sunday morning, most of it was destroyed.

“I can make a comment now that in my 33 years, we have never actually had to engage mutual aid for the City of Brandon,” said Scott McDonald, deputy chief for Brandon Fire and Emergency Services.

In a tweet, the City of Brandon said Princess and Rosser Avenues have re-opened, with restrictions at certain access points.

On Sunday afternoon, Brandon firefighters were also called to an unrelated vehicle fire caused by mechanical issues at Pacific Avenue and 10th Street. The city said the fire was quickly extinguished without further incident.

Brandon Mayor Rick Chrest described the situation as “extremely devastating” to the residents and businesses affected, as well as their employees and clients.

“By modern standards, this is certainly one of the biggest, if not the biggest, (fire) in the last 50 or 60 years.”

But in “true Manitoba style,” Chrest said everybody got together to help out their neighbours. “Obviously, the focus so far was really dealing with the immediate incident and our first responders have done a fabulous job.”

The Brandon Bear Clan held a donation drive at St. Matthew’s Church on Sunday, gathering everything from clothing to diapers for more than 20 families, while local addiction recovery advocate Kim Longstreet has set up a GoFundMe page, raising more than $5,000 in less than 24 hours.

“As usual, Brandon does what Brandon does,” Longstreet said. “It pulls together in a time of need and makes sure that people in our community have their needs met and I’ve never been disappointed with that.”

To support the GoFundMe campaign, go to www.gofundme.com/pacific-avenue-fire-brandon.

» mlee@brandonsun.com

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