As the first anniversary of the devastating fire at 100 Little Ave. approaches, reflection and rehabilitation are at the forefront of what lies ahead.
On Monday, April 23, 2018, one of the city’s worst fires displaced 70 residents in 25 units and caused $3.5 million in damages.
Flames were shooting through the roof for several hours as firefighters battled the blaze that destroyed the top floor of the three-storey building, located at the corner of Bayview Drive, and left smoke damage throughout.
Amanda Hiltz and her son currently live in a building on Penetang Street since being displaced from their Little Avenue apartment. Hiltz remembers April 23 vividly and is thankful she and her son were OK.
“We had gone to Shear Park to enjoy the sunny day and came back later in the evening just in time to get my son ready for bed,” said Hiltz. “I no sooner got ready to relax and my friend told me the building was on fire. I thought they were joking, because we’d always said it would happen since it’s such a bad area.
"I stepped outside and could hear that whistling you hear from a bonfire and smelled smoke, but there were no fire alarms going off," she added. "We got out as soon as possible, thankfully unhurt.”
Mayor Jeff Lehman told BarrieToday he also looks back on the incident as one year approaches, but for reasons other than the destruction it caused.
“When I think about this fire, my first thought is: How it is that nobody died or was seriously hurt? It could have been tragic,” said Lehman. “My other enduring memory will be the mountain of donated clothes and goods in the (Barrie City Hall) Rotunda and the incredible generosity of the people of Barrie.”
Monetary donations for the victims was more than $37,000 and there were so many items donated, the city had to ask for folks to stop giving as they took everything to a warehouse to be sorted and distributed.
There was to be a news conference for a funding announcement regarding the rebuilding of the complex in mid-February, but bad weather postponed it and it is now set for Wednesday, April 24, one day after the first anniversary.
Lehman spoke about the upcoming announcement and is looking forward to the good news.
“There will be a funding announcement regarding 100 Little next week, yes, which is great news for Barrie and the project,” said the mayor. “Construction on the rebuild, of course, has been underway for a little while now, but there are some exciting details to come.”
While residents will have to wait until April 24 for more details on funding, it has long been visible that at least a fourth floor is being added to 100 Little Ave.
Since the fire and relocation of the residents, there have been many stories on social media about a lack of information coming from Barrie Housing.
“For those who want to move back into the rebuilt building, I know that day can’t come soon enough and hopefully, the silver lining will be that the units they move back into will be brand new," Lehman said. "Unfortunately, after the fire, there were some blatantly false rumours that were spread on Facebook which didn’t help anything, especially when people were already struggling with such a traumatic event.
"So yes, I would hope everyone will talk to Barrie Housing staff if there are any ongoing concerns and certainly (they) can provide clarity on what is and isn’t actually the case," he added. "Also, I was very proud of the way Barrie Housing staff and several members of council worked together to gather literally massive amounts of donations for the residents, so much so that we needed three empty retail stores just to hold all the generous donations for the fire victims.”
Some residents have permanently relocated, but Hiltz is anxious to get back into her Little Avenue apartment as where she is now is not where she wants to stay.
“I’ve never seen cockroaches before here,” said Hiltz. “My rent is higher here and the area is just as bad as 100 Little Ave. Ever since we were relocated here, it feels like no one gets back to us on what is happening, and now I hear they’re building a fourth floor, but there were no parking spaces for people before. So how is that going to work?”
BarrieToday has reached out to Barrie Housing officials on several occasions in the past several weeks to get an update on the Little Avenue reconstruction efforts, but have been told they would provide more details at an upcoming press conference.
