The doors are open after the fire that ripped through a four-storey apartment building near the corner of Cremazie East Boulevard and Saint-Michel Boulevard. Still, resident Hatem Rouis says the nightmare continues. After residents were told they could return to the building to begin collecting belongings, Rouis was disturbed to find that some of his items had been stolen. He says his family was robbed of clothes, jewelry, electronics, and cash - not once, but twice. Rouis says he’s tried to get answers from the building manager. He was told to call his insurance. However, Rouis is uninsured. Rouis filed a police report but says he’s calling on the city of Montreal for help. He’s also preparing to move his items out of the building, though it’s unclear where they’ll go. CTV News reached out to Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada’s office for comment but did not hear back in time for air. As residents struggle to move out of temporary accommodations, a local business is stepping up. Derek Waugh works at Bluebird Self Storage and is a victim of the Saint-Michel fire himself. He says his branch off the metropolitan east is offering to waive the rental fee for 3 months of storage to all residents of the building. “We’ve had about 5 or 6 people who had taken this offer, which is great, [it’s] nice to know that we’ve been able to offer this to people who actually needed the help,” Waugh tells CTV. For Waugh himself, there’s an end in sight. He says he has managed to find a new apartment, though it’s more costly and an hour away from work.
