Winnipeg seniors complex 'uninhabitable' due to burst pipe, flooding
Donna and Ken Buskell are among residents of a seniors housing co-op in Winnipeg reeling after a water pipe burst in the complex and forced them out with no return date in sight.
It happened Tuesday afternoon. Residents were told a pipe in the building’s sprinkler system burst after freezing overnight.
“There was insulation and ice cold water, about a foot, all over everywhere in the house,” Donna Buskell told CTV News Thursday.
Many of the building’s 36 suites were flooded, and the ceiling in Buskell’s bedroom – where Ken was napping at the time – collapsed.
“As he got up, the ceiling started to fall in,” she said. “It hit him in the head and another piece fell and hit him in the shoulder.”
The Buskells packed a few bags, mainly clothes and medication, before leaving their home of the past three years.
“As I opened the door to the apartment to get out of there, all my stuff was floating out in the hallway,” said Buskell.
The building has been declared uninhabitable for the immediate future due to extensive damage.
Buskell said they do have tenant insurance, but are unable to afford the upfront costs for temporary housing and other expenses.
“We don’t have a lot of money to go out and eat every time we turn around," she said.
Following the burst pipe, community organizations, namely the Brooklands Active Living Centre, Sparling United Church, and the Keewatin Inkster Neighbourhood Resource Council, stepped up to help residents by finding hotel rooms and dropping off food.
The housing co-op’s board of directors tells CTV News it is close to securing housing for displaced residents.
“We grieve with the residents and the loss of their housing at Westlands, and we’re here to help through community organizations to address the needs of every resident, starting with the most vulnerable,” a board of directors spokesperson told CTV News.
The Buskells are staying in a Headingley hotel room --- at least, for one more night.
“We’re homeless. We don’t know where we’re going to go tomorrow,” Buskell said.
She’s heard they may get back into the building in December, but doesn’t believe any of their possessions will be salvageable.
“I feel so helpless. All of our stuff, all of our memories.”
The province --- a stakeholder in the housing complex --- says Manitoba Housing is working with the property development company and dealing with insurance claims as quickly as it can.
Manitoba Housing will also cover moving and transfer costs for the tenants.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
'Tactical evacuations' underway near Fort Nelson, B.C., as wildfires encroach
The BC Wildfire Service says 'tactical evacuations' began Friday near Fort Nelson, B.C., due to an out-of-control wildfire that has grown rapidly since it was discovered earlier in the afternoon.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.