Feb 10, 2019

Basement flooding in an aging Toronto apartment building that left residents without heat, power and water prompted Ontario’s Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) to conduct an electrical safety inspection at a similar building nearby. Both buildings are about 50 years old and privately owned.

On January 22, Toronto Hydro disconnected electrical power at a 33-storey apartment building to avoid a prolonged power outage due to flooding, which leaked into an electrical room. From 700 to 1,000 residents of the 33-storey building were temporarily without water, heat and electricity.

Earlier this month residents in the undergoing the ESA inspection had no power, water or heat for half a day while the inspection took place. Nevertheless, they were better off than 1500 residents of a third building in the area that have been homeless since August 2018 following a 6-alarm fire that knocked out the building’s electrical system and caused substantial structural damage. The building is still under repair, and tenants have launched two class-action suits against the property managers and Toronto Hydro for millions of dollars in damages.

Photo courtesy of 8ocho8 on Pixabay