'No place like home': Gatineau tenants thrilled to return after tornado
3 of the 5 buildings in the apartment complex were severely damaged including the roof blowing off 1 building
Hundreds of tenants of the Les Jardins Radisson apartment buildings in Gatineau's Mont-Bleu neighbourhood stood in line Monday with suitcases, groceries and pets, waiting for the go-ahead to move back into their rental units 10 days after they were forced out by an EF-3 tornado.
Three of the five brick buildings that make up the apartment complex on rue Radisson had windows blown out and metal flashings torn off as the tornado ripped through. Debris from nearby buildings and trees also slammed into most of the 623 units.
One building in the complex lost its roof altogether.
About 150 units were severely damaged — their windows blown out or parts of their balconies torn off.
Joel O'Brien, holding his white cat in a small carrier and plastic bags stuffed with clothes, was anxious to get back into his sixth-floor unit after staying with a friend and an apartment/hotel since the storm on Sept. 21.
He left with only his wallet, cellphone and cat. Last week, the landlord allowed tenants back in briefly to pick up clothes and personal hygiene products.
"I feel really happy," O'Brien said on Monday at being let back in permanently.
"I feel really lucky that I'm safe and sound, and so is my little cat over there. It's been a long experience but I consider myself lucky because our building is still intact and we can move back in today."
O'Brien was at home when the tornado hit.
"It was quite a dangerous and scary experience," he said, recalling how his bedroom and living-room windows were smashed in.
"I had glass flying through and debris from all the other buildings flying by."
Jason Ashdown — one of the founders of Skyline Living, the company that owns Les Jardins Radisson — was shocked when he showed up the day after the tornado to see vehicles crushed into one another and about 30 mature trees snapped or uprooted.
The company secured backhoes, small tractors and dozens of dumpsters as 75 workers began the cleanup outside and in hundreds of apartments.
"We removed all the loose debris, thousands upon thousands of [pieces of] debris from the site," Ashdown said.
"There wasn't one inch of this site that didn't have a piece of someone else's roof on it or garbage or glass on it, and the glass breaks up into little tiny pieces and it's in everyone's suite."
Before the tenants could return, the buildings had to be inspected to ensure they were structurally secure, metal flashings were fastened, fire safety tests were performed and all the glass and sharp debris were cleared.
Replacement glass has been ordered. For now, plywood covers all the broken windows and balcony doors. And while the concrete floors of the balconies have been deemed safe, the railings still need to be checked.
Ashdown said he hopes to have all the windows replaced within a few weeks, but that it will be three months until all the other repairs are finished.
He understands the frustration from some tenants about being out of their apartments for so long, but said his company had to be cautious. "We had to keep their safety always top of mind," he said.
Thankful for tenant insurance requirement
O'Brien had only been living in his apartment for three weeks when the tornado hit, and in hindsight he's glad Skyline Living requires tenants to secure renter's insurance.
"It's a requirement for every tenant that moves in," Ashdown said. "But unfortunately when some tenants move in they cancel it. It just goes to show you that when something bad happens ... unfortunately the people that don't have the insurance need it the most."
Tenants were welcomed back Monday with a free slice of pizza, and Skyline Living bought some groceries and received donations from some grocery stores. Tenants helped themselves to cleaning supplies, pet food and groceries that volunteers handed out.
Richard Gaudreau, who lives with his brother in one of the buildings that wasn't badly damaged, stayed with his children during the cleanup.
"Oh, I feel so happy," Gaudreau said. "Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home."