Block B residents begin moving back into Chatham apartment complex one year after fire

99 McNaughton Ave. West. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

Some residents of Block B at 99 McNaughton Avenue West in Chatham began returning home Tuesday, one year and one day after a fire forced more than 100 people from the apartment complex.

Rob Pollock, Chatham-Kent’s director of parks, recreation and facilities, said tenants are moving back into the first floor, while work continues on the upper levels.

“Today we’re actually moving in tenants on the first floor of Block B. So that’s starting today. And then, the upper floors, we still have a bit of work to do there. And we’re looking for about Nov. 1st for them to move in,” Pollock said.

“So right now we’re about 90 per cent back occupancy in that building, and then the rest will come in November.”

Pollock described the move as a significant milestone for both tenants and the municipality.

“It’s great news for all the tenants and everyone that was housed there and had to be displaced,” he explained.

“I give props to all the facilities team, our legal team, and appreciation to all the tenants while we are doing all this work. Obviously, it wasn’t easy for them. And thanks to the community for stepping up and helping them over this past year because they lost a lot of stuff from the fire, too. We appreciate everyone working with us while we go through this rebuild. And we’re getting close to the finish line.”

Some tenants have raised concerns over missing personal belongings discovered after returning to their units.

“Anyone with these types of concerns can reach out to our legal services department,” Pollock said.

“Since it’s an insurance claim, we’re working through our legal services department. We’re working through the process with them. When a situation like this happens, there’s a big process on taking pictures in the units and getting access to all the units. So, we’re working through some of those issues that have been brought up and working on those individually case by case, each one that comes up.”

Pollock said municipal staff have been responding to tenant issues since the beginning.

“Any of the issues that a tenant has, we’ve been trying to make sure that we’re going through that because a lot of people had medical, or other things that they’re missing,” he said.

“We were working through that right from the start. And then some, once they got back in, there were some people that were getting a hold of us, and we’re trying to work through those issues with them.”

In response to allegations of security staff sleeping on the job and strangers accessing the building while tenants were displaced, Pollock said those concerns are taken seriously.

“If certain people were getting in, we are following up on those and seeing how they got in. Some it could have been a tenant let them in, or a door was left open,” he said.

“And if there are issues with the security company, we’re following up with them right away. And we’re taking those issues very seriously. Any of those issues that came up, we were dealing with those right away.”

Pollock added that the majority of residents have expressed gratitude for the support they received.

“The majority of the feedback that we’ve got from residents is that they’re very thankful for everything that we did in the process,” he said.

“Our housing services department. Even the fire department, everyone that was on site right off the bat.”