Danny Leber’s deep voice faltered and broke into sobs as he tried to plan his next steps following an urgent evacuation order that forced him to rush home from work Thursday night and begin packing up his family, but with nowhere to go.
“It’s scary. I got a toddler and a family, right?” Leber said Thursday night, standing outside the five-storey Birchwood Terrace apartment building on Portage Avenue in Winnipeg where he and his girlfriend live.
“She’s crying upstairs and it’s on me as the provider of the house … to provide and be strong.”
Residents of the 171-suite structure were told Thursday, without prior warning, to be gone by 8 a.m. Friday after an inspection found serious structural deterioration.
“I’m stressed out man — like, I don’t even know what to do,” Leber said after racing home from Selkirk, where he works night shifts.
“Who wants to take in two cats … a little toddler and a girlfriend, right? It’s a whole circus, and not a lot of people want to take that on. So as of 8 a.m., I don’t know if we’re going to be living in my car.”
The City of Winnipeg issued an order to immediately vacate the building due to unsafe conditions, a news release sent just before 9 p.m. Thursday said.
The order cites an inspection by an engineering consultant, which found serious corrosion in columns of Birchwood Terrace’s underground parkade.
That “leads us to believe that this is a pervasive condition that puts the overall stability of the structure in question,” the order said.
“The building is not safe to occupy at present,” Jason Shaw, the City of Winnipeg’s deputy chief of emergency management, said Friday morning at a news conference.
“This order was issued to prevent a potential disaster. Under the engineer’s report … the building is unstable.”
Asked if there is a fear the building could collapse, Shaw bluntly responded, “That is the fear.”
He added this is the first time in his 22 years with the city that he’s experienced an evacuation due to a potential structural collapse.
Mayor Scott Gillingham said he went to the building Friday morning and witnessed a steady stream of people carrying belonging to vehicles.
“This decision was not made lightly. My heart goes out to the residents of Birchwood Terrace,” he said. “This is an emotional and difficult time for many of them.”
He acknowledged “the disruption and uncertainty” the evacuation order has caused and said the city is committed to providing support to residents.
Shaw said the building owner and engineers had been working over several days on an inspection of the building before coming to their conclusion and contacting the city.
“That’s when we took action,” he said.
A memo sent to residents on Thursday night by Lakewood Agencies, which manages the building on behalf of Ladco, said their leases are considered terminated effective immediately.
The five-storey building, between Assiniboine Crescent and Olive Street, was built in 1962, according to an online rental profile. There are approximately 250 residents, Shaw said at Friday’s news conference.
A reception centre to help people find temporary accommodation, resources and support has been set up by the city in the Holiday Inn just west of the apartment building.
Shaw also said city officials have gone door-to-door, advising residents of other properties in the neighbourhood that they are on an evacuation watch.
“They are being asked to prepare to evacuate if and when the structural condition of the apartment building requires it,” he said.
The city will issue orders to Ladco about specific actions it must take to address the problems, which must be completed before the building can be occupied again, Shaw added.
There are no timelines for that process at the moment, he said.
‘We don’t know what to do’
Birchwood Terrace resident Mala Carriere was out Thursday night when her daughter called with the sudden news that they had to leave.
“We have a lot of anxiety right now, because this was our home,” she said, holding a pet carrier containing a tropical bird, noting she also has a dog and fish.
“We’re pretty stressed. We’re on the verge of tears because we don’t know what to do.”
In the meantime, she and her younger daughter are moving in with Carriere’s older daughter, who has a two-bedroom apartment but also two kids of her own.
A friend brought in a truck to help them move as much as they could on short notice.
“I don’t know how long this is going to last or if it’s permanent. We have not been told,” she said about the order to vacate.
Michelle Harder, who was helping a friend move, said everyone is frustrated, upset and full of questions.
“They don’t know how much stuff to bring with them — all of their stuff, or if they have to make arrangements to come back. What if they can’t get all of their stuff?” she said, tearing up while talking.
“A lot of people don’t have family in the city. A lot of people don’t have a lot of friends maybe around. If she [Harder’s friend] didn’t have any friends here, she’d be stuck.”
The fact residents don’t know when they’ll be able to go back is a concern, she said.
“That’s just a really unsettling feeling. The last thing you want is to be … you know, kicked out and on the street, trying to figure out where to go if you don’t have family or friends.”