Westcourt Place residents out for another 72 hours

Westcourt Place residents won't be able to return home for at least another 72 hours, according to city officials, after a garage fire Tuesday sent five people, including three firefighters, to hospital.

Some displaced residents were able to arrange stays with family or friends, but many took the City's offer of shelter at the WFCU Centre.

"We brought together social services, the health unit, EMS, the humane society," said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, while speaking with reporters.

According to Dilkens, 26 adults, six children and one pet were accommodated at the WFCU Centre. 

Addressing the uncertainty of when residents can return to the building, Dilkens said that Enwin services have been restored to buildings in the area, with the exception of Westcourt Place.

The owner of the building, based in Montreal, is working through the process to restore power to the building. That process includes repairs to the building's electrical system — not maintained by Enwin — and an inspection by the Electrical Safety Authority, before the power can be turned back on. 

"In the interim, the building remains closed, including the courts and offices and the residential units above," said Dilkens. 

Westcourt Place building manager Vickie Hayden said updated information will be posted to the building's Facebook page. She said the building is working to arrange times when people can access their units to obtain clothing or other items.

"I understand conversations with the building owner indicate there may not be a full understanding of the magnitude of this event and the damage that's been caused," said Dilkens. "We're asking the owner to make sure the insurer is on site as soon possible."

Dilkens said they haven't seen the owner step up in a way they'd like to in the last 24 hours. 

There are 166 residential units, with more than 200 people living in the building. The building also houses the Windsor/Essex Provincial Offences division, as well as 30 additional commercial offices.

Hayden said commercial tenants will need to speak with Windsor fire before being allowed to enter the building.

"Due to the smoke or anything into building, we have no permission to enter," she said. "If they do need to enter, they will speak to the fire department and I'm sure they'll definitely try to help them if they can."

Windsor fire's investigation into the apartment blaze is ongoing.

Residents given three-hour window to access apartment building

Though residents will still need to wait before formally returning to Westcourt Place, Windsor fire will escort groups of residents who need access to building.

Residents will be allowed back into the building between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday. Only one resident per unit will be permitted to enter the building — and they can only enter the building once.

Residents are advised to pack at least 72 hours worth of belongings. Tenants with pets will have to retrieve their animals on their own, as Windsor firefighters will not carry pets outside of cages. 

Proof of residence will be required to enter Westcourt Place.

Anyone looking to enter the premises will need to check in with a Windsor fire official in a city bus parked at Goyeau Street.

Residents will need to wait on the bus or "lose their spot in line," the city said Wednesday.

'I thought it would be at least a week,' says one resident

While Westcourt Place's owner works through the process to restore power to the building, displaced residents are dealing with a lack of personal belongings, as well as an inability to return to their homes.

Bura Abdussalam's vehicle was one of the seven damaged by the garage fire. 

Abdussalam was told by building security that his vehicle was "totally damaged," adding he's not sure what was in his car. 

"It's like a little baby," he said. "I was taking care of it pretty much and when you just wake up [to] such news like this, you have to think about rearranging your daily life again."

Antonio Santibanez — who spent Tuesday evening with a friend — said he initially thought the fire alarm was a false alarm.

"It's not rare for the alarm to go off in this building," he said. "So I came down wearing the bare minimum. I was thinking I was going to come right back up."

Among his belongings currently in his apartment is his passport, which Santibanez will need for a business trip in Mexico next week.

"I thought it would be longer," he said. "I thought it would be at least a week."

Still, Santibanez said even if residents were allowed to return to their apartments, he wouldn't spend the night due to concerns about lingering smells of smoke.

"That little smoke that I inhaled on the way down, I was blowing my nose all day and it had black soot [in] it," he said. "I'm just waiting to see what they say today or tomorrow."