Mark Slapinski is fearing the worst for the hundreds of residents displaced by Friday’s devastating apartment fire in North York.Slapinski, a displaced resident of 650 Parliament St., says the five-alarm fire “brings back memories” of what he and his fellow residents went through in August 2018. “Based on what I’ve seen, the damage looks really bad and residents should plan for the worst. This includes getting all important property — including ID, jewelry, cash, tax documents and medication — into their possession,” said Slapinski, a spokesperson for the Displaced Residents of 650 Parliament. Slapinski hasn’t lived at home for more than a year and new estimates show that he won’t be allowed back until January at the very earliest.Friday’s fire at 235 Gosford Blvd., a 15-storey building near Jane Street and Steeles Avenue West, doesn’t appear to be as destructive as the six-alarm Parliament Street blaze, but it’s done damage nonetheless. The building had significant damage on floors seven to nine. The eighth floor, in particular, will be “inaccessible for a significant period,” says Richard Derstroff with the office of the Ontario Fire Marshal. One resident was discovered dead on an eighth-floor balcony.Toronto Hydro has disconnected power to the building as directed by the Electrical Safety Authority and the building won’t reopen until “all repair work required has been completed by the owner.”In a news release Sunday, the City of Toronto gave no timeline on when residents would be allowed back into their homes. Residents were initially put up at the Driftwood Community Centre, where roughly 100 slept over on Friday and Saturday nights. Since the fire, more than 160 residents have registered with the Canadian Red Cross. On Sunday, the group was being relocated to York University’s Tait McKenzie Centre, where the Red Cross would assist them. MairiAnn ...
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