Tenants of Toronto apartment that burned down say no actions were taken after fire violations found days prior

Gloria Britstone alongside neighbour and supporter Becca Young (Supplied by Britstone)

The displaced tenants of a Toronto apartment building damaged in a four-alarm fire earlier this month are angry after they say they're unaware of any actions taken following a city inspection that identified 12 fire violations four days before the blaze.

The morning of Jan. 15, emergency crews responded to a fire at a three-storey, multi-unit apartment building at 828 Shaw St., north of Bloor Street, near Christie Pitts Park.

Eleven people were rescued from the burning building and four were transported to the hospital. One adult sustained life-threatening injuries and the three others had minor injuries.

The fire left 20 residents across 13 units homeless, a neighbour who has been directly assisting the tenants and organizing support told CTV News Toronto Monday.

“Most tenants literally had less than a minute and a half to grab their pets and whatever was around them in their surroundings and leave,” Gloria Britstone said.

FIRE VIOLATIONS FOUND

Eight days before the devastating fire, tenants say another broke out in the building. It was contained in one of the units and prompted a city inspection.

That inspection, conducted by Toronto Fire, revealed 12 violations of the fire code, including a lack of testing and records of alarms and fire extinguishers.

Britstone said that between Jan. 11 and Jan. 15, tenants were unaware of any attempts to rectify the violations.

“That point is so critical,” Britstone said. “Four days later, of course, the building burned down.”

UNTRUSTING AND AFRAID

Charleen Edwards had lived at 828 Shaw St. for nearly five years and the fire left her without a home.

In her time there, she says she never met her landlord, the owner of Gupta Realty, in person. Even before fire violations were found, she says maintenance issues often went unaddressed within the building.

Edwards added that tenants made complaints about existing fire code violations, but that they remained unaddressed.

“People in the building complained and still nothing changed,” she told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.

CTV News Toronto has made multiple attempts to contact Gupta Realty and has yet to receive a response.

When residents were initially displaced, the City of Toronto in conjunction with the Red Cross assumed care of the families, providing shelter at a local hotel and ensuring meals and supplies were accessible. However, last week, Britstone says tenants received notice that their support would be transferred back to their landlord.

She says she has little to no confidence in her landlord’s ability to care for and support the tenants, adding that tenants have been given no information on their accommodations past Feb. 5.

“I’m untrusting, afraid,” Edwards said.

When reached for comment, Anthony Toderian, media relations for the City of Toronto, confirmed the landlord had taken ownership of tenants’ support, adding that the “displaced residents of 828 Shaw continue to be supported with shelter at a hotel.”

“The City of Toronto supports the transition of the tenants out of short-term emergency care by the City of Toronto to the property owner/landlord's oversight,” Toderian said.

He said the city’s office of emergency management is in contact with the landlord to “ensure that the tenants have temporary shelter.”

Britsone also says she has concerns as to whether the landlord is the appropriate person to assume care of the unhoused tenants.

“With the fact that this situation, in many ways, was caused by poor standards of care in the building, it really feels like a shocking position to be putting [the landlord] in,” she said.

To help support the tenants of 828 Shaw, Britstone started a GoFundMe campaign.

At the time of publication, the fundraiser had amassed just under $45,000 of its $100,000 goal.

The funds will be dispersed between the tenants, Britstone said, and used to help get them back on their feet.

With files from CP24’s Kerrisa Wilson.