Dozens of residents recently displaced after a historic building caught fire are still searching for housing.
The Empire Complex blaze could cost the Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board (CDSSAB) up to $505,650.
The fire that broke out on March 23 has been deemed accidental. While there were no injuries reported, 113 people of all ages living in the 86-unit building downtown Timmins were left without a home. The affected residents were initially housed at the nearby Bon Air Motel before being moved to the Ramada Inn in the west end of Timmins on April 1.
“There was an immediate need. We had over 100 people become homeless all of a sudden. Our staff and community partners have been excellent at providing temporary emergency housing,” Cochrane District EMS chief paramedic Jean Carriere told CDSSAB members at the April 18 meeting.
“The residents cannot move back to the Empire anytime soon. There's a significant amount of work that is required. Most have lost most of their belongings.”
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Some of the residents have been successfully housed.
“We've taken some aggressive approaches to try and find people housing. We’ve had staff there every day, they're now there every other day, and they're following up with everybody to ensure that they're looking for housing and that we're helping them through that process,” he said.
Carriere said residents have been given until the end of April to find housing. However, by the end of May, the CDSSAB is projecting there will still be between 14 to 20 rooms occupied at the Ramada Inn.
"Moving forward, there are certain people staying at the Ramada Inn. If we do not continue to support them, they will absolutely be homeless. So then they would still fall under our responsibilities under the homeless mandate,” he said.
The CDSSAB is trying to recuperate some costs from the tenants' insurance.
"There are 33 tenants that had insurance and the majority are insured for about $2,000 of displacement costs, which could be forwarded to the CDSSAB to offset some of those costs,” said Carriere.
The estimated $500,000 projection includes lodging and meals. The CDSSAB has not spent that much yet, but the cost is unexpected and not budgeted. From March 23 to April 30, the estimated costs are $368,100 for accommodation and $137,550 for meals.
“Some of those costs have been offset by donations, by some of the restaurants in town providing meals, and some people leaving sooner than we had anticipated. I don't have the actual costs from today, but the costs are definitely lower than the $500,000 that is projected here at week four,” said Carriere.
Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis asked where the money’s coming from.
In addition to the insurance company claims, Carriere said they’re working with Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services to mitigate some of the expenses.
Another update is expected at the next CDSSAB meeting in May.
