EDMONTON – A fire at a downtown Edmonton shelter has left the city with 66 fewer beds for vulnerable women looking to get off the streets.
The fire broke out early Tuesday morning at the Women’s Emergency Accommodations Centre, just off Jasper Avenue and 96 Street in downtown Edmonton.
Edmonton police believe a lighter was used to deliberately start the blaze, which severely damaged the women’s shelter.
But the fire and smoke is not what caused the most damage, CEO Barb Spencer said. The blaze set off the sprinkler systems, which left extensive water damage, Spencer explained.
“What we have mostly is water damage from the 4th floor to the lower floors which has compromised about a third of our space,” Spencer told 630 CHED.
The centre is an emergency shelter for homeless women, and also serves as a place for them to seek out housing and jobs. Spencer said an insurance adjuster is still determining the damage, but even without the estimate it’s easy to see the carnage.
“There’s people on site looking at the impact the water has had on the ceilings, which is drywall. So we have some bulges which we know will have to be taken down and replaced.”
A 33-year-old woman is facing arson charges.
The shelter hopes to have about two thirds of its 66 beds available as soon as possible. In the meantime, women seeking emergency shelter in Edmonton can do so at the Hope Mission, or for a fee, at the YMCA downtown. The Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters is also available for women feeling domestic violence.
With files from Mark Woollven, 630 CHED. To read the full CHED story, click here.
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