Life is starting to get back to normal for Kristen Gardner who is one of about 120 residents displaced by a fire at a social housing complex in Chatham three months ago.
Life is starting to get back to normal for Kristen Gardner who is one of about 120 residents displaced by a fire at a social housing complex in Chatham three months ago.
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Wednesday morning, she was joined by friend Pat Campbell as they left her apartment at 99 McNaughton Ave. W. to walk their dogs and go for coffee.
Gardner is among the tenants in Section D, whose units were farthest from the origin of the fire that broke out in the early morning of Aug. 25, who moved back into their apartments Monday.
“It feels good,” Gardner said.
While many displaced residents were put in motels and area long-term care and retirement homes, Gardner was fortunate to stay with Campbell and her husband Jason.
“They took me and my little dog in,” she said.
“We’ve known Kristen through our church and we’ve taken her in before,” said Pat Campbell. “She’s a good friend.”
Penny Davis, another resident who returned to her apartment Monday, said, “It feels good to be back home.”
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Noting she had nothing wrong with her apartment and only had to clean out some food left in her refrigerator, Davis said, “So, I was lucky.”
She said the Chatham Lion’s Club welcomed residents back with some gift cards to purchase food.
“That helped out a lot, because we had nothing in the refrigerator after cleaning it out,” Davis said.
Gardner said she returned to find “little or no damage,” adding she just learned Wednesday morning of some minor water damage in a closet.
Davis, who stayed at the Park Place long-term care home in Dresden, said she is hearing from friends who are still waiting to return to their units.
“They want to get back in. They can’t wait,” she said.
Residents whose units were significantly damaged and will have a long wait before they return home are handling the best they can, Davis said.
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Taunya Logan, who lives in Section C of the building, is among those who the municipality anticipates will be back in their units before Christmas.
Looking forward to getting back home, Logan was at the apartment building Wednesday visiting neighbors.
“It’s nice to see everybody,” she said.
Helen Saunar, a resident at the apartment complex for about seven years, was growing concerned as the weeks passed and she was not able to return home.
“I’m happy,” she said Wednesday. “I like it here.”
Saunar spent some time staying at her daughter’s home in the Toronto area, but the initial displacement from her apartment was difficult.
“It was too hard,” she said.
The stress of having to leave her home caused her to go to the emergency room a few times, she said.
“We didn’t know what damage there was, didn’t know whether we were going to get to go back. There were so many rumors going around,” she said.
A section of the building was heavily damaged and it will be months before some residents can return home.
Two people are charged with arson with disregard for human life in connection to the fire.
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