Whisper or Shout

July 31st, 2008 by Romelda

The days seem to run right into each other, and we don’t know what day it is! We can not believe that we have been displaced from our apartment for going on 11 days now.

It’s crazy. There is so much to do after such an event occurs in your life. First and foremost – find a permanent place to live.

After going to Midland on Tuesday, July 29 to borrow my father’s truck so we can have a vehicle to run around and look at places etc. we were relieved to know we could get around easily and in a timely fashion to get things done. The TTC is great, but wow, time consuming….time we don’t have. Thanks, Cindy for driving us to Barrie to meet my Dad…you’re the best.

We have two great Real Estate Agents helping us locate the right place to rent. Thanks Wilma and Todd. While they look, we are also looking.

If anyone knows of anyone who may have a 2 bedroom apartment/basement or house in the East End of Toronto that they are wanting to rent out, please let us know. That would really, really help us out. We are looking for immediate (Aug. 12th at the lastest if possible) move-in, with a budget of approximately $1000 all inclusive.

Our apartment hunting yesterday was dismal…very few places we looked at are places suitable to move in to. Read the rest of this entry »

July 29th, 2008 by Romelda

One week? Has it only been one week? If feels like months have done by since the explosion on July 20th.

Our lives have been chaos, and our days filled with phone calls, errands and meetings at “ground zero”. On Sunday July 27th, we were able to gain access to our unit for 15 minutes.

Before entering the building, the Fire Marshall gave everyone a clear indication of what to expect.

1. Some of the doors would be broken into – in order for Firemen to gain access to the unit – as it was a search and rescue operation when the firemen were first on scene, and if anyone had a secondary lock for which the super did not have a key, whack went the axe to gain entry.
2. Some units would appear to have been ransacked – firemen did turn beds over and so forth looking for pets (cats in particular).
3. There had been issues with “burglary” on floors 1-5, but since we were in the upper floors they did not anticipate any looting etc. (The three little – ahem I won’t use the word I want to here – thieves were arrested by Monday morning and charged. Teens, two boys and one girl. Likely caught because they tried to fence “hot” and sooty goods.
4. All the fridges and freezers in all the units had been sealed by order of the Public Health Department in preparation for their removal in order to control the health hazards now building within the units – since the building has been without power or water for 7 days.
5. He instructed everyone very emphatically “DO NOT break the seal and open your fridges. If you breath the air that will escape from them you WILL get sick.
6. He also instructed anyone who may have valuables in their fridges or freezers NOT to open them, that a emergency worker with the propery safety gear would do so once they were removed from the building.
7. Most importantly The Fire Marshal indicated that the physical footprint of the building was safe and there was no longer a concern about the actual building collapsing. It was the underground parking levels, which extend beyond the buildings foundations, that are being shored up.
8. Everyone would be given an ID Bracelet and each pair of residents would have an emergency worker escort them up to their units. This was to ensure you only entered YOUR unit, and had assistance should you require it.

I did not climb the 21 flights of stairs. I am not crazy. When they said that only fit, healthy people should climb the stairs, that automatically (thank god) took me out of contention for being a stair climber and retriver of goods. Heather and our amazing friends, also named Heather climbed the stairs. Read the rest of this entry »

July 25th, 2008 by Romelda

July 21, the day after the explosion was truly surreal. The school located across the street from our apartment building has become the “Relief Center” for some 900 now displaced residents of 2 Secord Ave.

Individuals in the MCC Toronto Choir, have come to our aid, and loaned us their car and a laptop to stay connected and get back and forth and do some emergency shopping etc. We are so thankful.

We arrived at the Relief Center to find 200 of our fellow residents who were not as fortunate as us, and had to stay at the shelter overnight. We are ushered in to lines to get immediate relief; the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Toronto Humane Society, The City of Toronto and so many other organizations were so helpful. We received immediate emergency relief funding cheques to help us get some necessary supplies. Clothes, shoes, socks, water etc, were all given to us without question.

We had a resident information meeting with the Fire Marshal, The Emergency Services etc, to get an update on where things stood and what exactly had happened. They had informed us that we were going to be able to get into the building for 15 minutes to our units and get the essentials and what you could carry in two hands – we’d be escorted by emergency services personel; we’d have to use the stairs (for obvious reasons of no power). They said cars in the parking lot had been flooded to about 3-4 feet.

Heather and I signed up for 6-9 that night, we then adjusted our shopping list to exclude items we could get from the apartment (like cell phone chargers) and went out to buy some emergency clothing, a couple pair of shorts, and a couple tops, underwear etc., and to get toothbrushes and so forth.

When we arrived back at the Relief Center at 6, an assembly was in progress with all the residents. We were being informed that we would NOT in fact be able to access the building. The Toronto Public Health Unit had said no one could enter the building until further air quality testing and soot contamination testing had to be done. Results would take 48-72 hours. They informed us of an estimated timeframe for other events that would have to take place in order for people to enter the building. They would have to shore up the building’s two garage level in order to stabilize the building’s structure. Estimated time to complete the shoring up of the building, several (4-6) weeks. Read the rest of this entry »