The sight of their homes being destroyed by a massive fire is still fresh in the minds of tenants of a southside apartment building. The majority of the Heatheridge complex was destroyed by Thursday's blaze.. causing millions of dollars in damage.. and leaving 100 people without a home.
Firefighters continued to extinguish hot spots on Saturday as Myles Kraft looked on. Kraft said he's still trying to come to terms with what happened to the place he called home for the past 20 years.
"you still walk around kind of stunned because where are you going to live? You have to start all over"
Kraft's suite is still standing, but he has been told it's suffered extensive water and smoke damage. He's expecting most of his possessions will not be salvageable.
"probably a week from now. It'll be a week before we can even think about getting into our places to take whatever paintings you have, anything that's worth taking."
Kraft and the rest of the displaced residents from Heatheridge stopped by the Blue Quill Community centre Saturday. The Company that owns the apartment complex gave back residents damage deposit and a portion of January's rent. The Company hopes the extra cash will help former residents get back on their feet.
Jason Fawcett, Vice President of Kelson Group said "the building is not habitable so [giving the money back] is the least [they] can do."
The Edmonton Emergency Relief Services warehouse was busy on Saturday. Workers gathered items for those who had their possessions destroyed by the fire. The city is asking for all donations to be dropped off at the warehouse.
"right now we're trying to meet everyone's immediate needs with things like toiletries and clothing" said Heather McCallum from the Edmonton Emergency Relief Society.
Myles Kraft tells Global News he doesn't have tenants insurance. He is currently staying at a hotel. Despire losing his home of 20 years, Kraft is trying to stay positive
"It could have been worse. It could have been a fatality or something like that. But it's just stuff that's replaceable."
With files from Slav Kornik
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