Bradford West Gwillimbury is set to pay its share of the bill for supporting residents displaced in the immediacy of the fire at 114 Holland St. W. last year.
Committee-of-the-whole recommended staff cut a cheque for $108,229 to the County of Simcoe. That covers the town’s portion of the expenses charged by the Red Cross for their support during the emergency.
The town has an emergency social services agreement with the county, a staff report indicated, where the county provides emergency reception and evacuation centre support and services to the town during such situations, utilizing county social services staff. The county also uses third parties as required, including the Red Cross.
While the costs borne by the county are not charged back to the town, any costs incurred by the Red Cross are split between Simcoe and the municipality.
Due to the extensive damage caused by the March 22 fire, all 84 units had to be evacuated and remain uninhabitable. No one died in the fire, but 11 people were taken to hospital.
That was proof enough that everything worked out the way it should, said Deputy Mayor James Leduc.
“Simcoe County, our staff, everyone worked quite well together to accommodate well over 100 residents that needed to find accommodations,” he said. “The emergency plan did come into effect and worked very well…. It was a pretty traumatic event for everybody. Good to see it’s come to a good conclusion (as) we lost no lives.”
In the immediate aftermath of the fire, the town helped to provide temporary accommodation for those who required it, including hosting some of the residents at the Danube Seniors Centre for the day and arranging for hotel rooms in Newmarket and Alliston. However, soon discussions with the county were initiated to enact the emergency social services agreement. When the county took over, they activated their agreement with the Red Cross.
More than 40 families required temporary lodging following the fire, with some remaining in hotels for months until suitable housing was found. The Red Cross regularly attended to these residents providing emergency allowances, food, clothing, transportation and medical supplies. They also were in contact with residents who didn’t require emergency shelter and were staying with friends or family.
The total bill submitted by the Red Cross for its expenses was $216,458.93.
The staff report also indicated that building permits to allow for repair to the apartment building have recently been submitted to the town, however, it did not state when residents are expected to be allowed back in.
