Water leaking onto an electrical panel forces tenants from Ledo Hotel rooming house
The future of 13 tenants is in limbo, after Sudbury's Ledo Hotel rooming house was closed due to safety concerns.
Fire crews were called to the building on Sunday morning to deal with a mattress fire. When they got there, they noted several safety concerns, including water leaking from the roof into a live electrical panel. There were also problems with the fire alarm system.
"The property manager responsible for the location chose to move the residents out of the building and they worked with social services at the city to do so," said Deputy fire Chief Jesse Oshell.
"From a fire prevention, life-safety perspective, there were orders issued on the building for the them to rectify."
Oshell says the fire department is working with the owner to make sure the problems are fixed.
In the meantime, an Ontario Fire Marshal Immediate Threat to Life Order was issued. The electricity was also disconnected.
A city spokesperson says the 13 tenants were brought over to Sudbury's Centre de Santé to evaluate their immediate needs.
"They are now staying at a local hotel, short-term, while we work with the building owner to determine his plans," said Kelly Brooks.
"He is responsible for fixing the building's issues so that hydro can be restored and these tenants can return to their homes safely. This is a difficult situation, and we're doing everything we can to provide support to these residents, including working with them one-on-one to determine their individual housing needs."
Brooks says once the city has more information from the building's owner, they'll be better able to decide what next steps should be taken.
