'Mom didn't cry but I did': Residents retrieve belongings from burnt apartment building
'We are just lucky that we have Nana'
Some residents of the burnt three-storey apartment building in Charlottetown were allowed back inside on Monday.
The fire at 10 Harley St. in Charlottetown on July 17th forced 52 residents our of their homes.
The third floor of the building was the one most damaged by the fire and remained off-limits to the residents who had lived there.
People who lived in 19 of the 29 apartments were allowed back in for a few moments to gather a few small things.
"Well, I feel that I got the important little items," said resident Carolle Anne Blanchard. "Some jewelry, passport, paperwork that I need to attend too, phone numbers and so on."
Blanchard, with help from her family, retrieved a bin full of essential items including a jasmine plant with sentimental value.
The families were supplied with a plastic tote and hard hats by Killam Properties — the building owner. Then they were taken inside by staff and only able to retrieve what they could fit inside the tote.
Blanchard's daughter Flory Sanderson said it was emotional to return to the partially-destroyed apartment on the second floor.
"You know everyone's safe so it doesn't really matter but I wasn't expecting the water dripping from the ceiling," Sanderson said. "Then when you walked into her apartment, you didn't know whether to be relieved or sad or what."
'It could have been a whole lot worse'
Seeing the damage to her mother's apartment was overwhelming.
"Just looking at everything, I just kind of had a little break down in there," Sanderson said. "Mom didn't cry but I did. And it could have been a whole lot worse."
Blanchard's granddaughter Rebecca Sanderson said they already had the most important thing from the apartment.
"Material things can be re-bought and stuff but we are just lucky that we have Nana," she said.
Fate of building still to be determined
Charlottetown's fire department previously said the blaze started in the mulch outside the building.
Staff at other Killam properties have begun removing mulch from around their buildings in the area.
Dan Sampson, director of property management with Killam Properties, said it was a precautionary measure and that they're looking at all the properties on P.E.I. to see where mulch needs to be removed from anything that could catch fire.
Regarding the residents' belongings, Killam is trying to make the process as fast as possible for people to get in and get their stuff, Sampson said.
Once debris is cleared from the third floor they will attempt to allow people in.
People will be accompanied by insurance adjusters when they go in to get larger items from the lower floors in the coming days.
Sampson said they will be bringing in contractors and insurance adjusters to make a final decision on what's to be done with the building.
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With files from Brian Higgins