Coquitlam, B.C. Mayor Richard Stewart said while the city and provincial government are providing emergency assistance to all those affected by the fire, the needs are greater for the Syrian families because they don’t have support systems nearby to help them cope.The Canadian Press
Two dozen families – including many who had moved to Canada just months ago as refugees from Syria – are unexpectedly in need of new homes, after a blaze tore through an apartment complex in Coquitlam, B.C., last week.
All of the refugees – most from the war-ravaged city of Aleppo – were sponsored by the Canadian government.
"These are families that many of them lost everything last year in a war, and now they've lost everything again," Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said.
Among the dozens of people displaced from their apartment units by Thursday's fire, 24 families are being told they won't be able to return as a result of the damage.
Coquitlam's fire chief issued a statement on Friday confirming that two of the complex's four blocks are expected to be safe enough for residents by early this week. But for those who were living in the block where the fire started, as well as the one next to it, residents will not be able to return home.
"There is no question, this is an incredibly challenging market for anyone looking for housing," Mr. Stewart said. "Particularly for those whose situation has changed so quickly and been unexpectedly disrupted, as it has in the instance."
He said while the city and provincial government are providing emergency assistance to all those affected by the fire, the needs are greater for the Syrian families because they don't have support systems nearby to help them cope.
"They don't have any local families. While some of the residents who were displaced can perhaps move over to their sister's place in the Lower Mainland or something like that, the Syrian refugees aren't privately sponsored, and they don't have those local connections that might have been able to help them in these tough times," Mr. Stewart said.
The mayor said he wants to find a way to keep the newly displaced families in Coquitlam, and believes that many want to stay, if they can. Immigrant Settlement Services of BC is leading the housing search for refugee families and Mr. Stewart said he will be meeting with city council later this week to determine how it can fast-track the search for affordable housing. A call has also been put out for "basement-suite sorts of solutions" in the area, he said, and the province has committed up to seven days of emergency funding for victims of the fire.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the B.C. government said it is working alongside Ottawa to ensure that those affected by the fire are getting what they need in terms of temporary accommodation, clothing, medication and other basics.
Some of the displaced families are staying at Simon Fraser University in staff housing that is unused during the summer, while others are being housed temporarily in Burnaby. The provincial government says that new permanent housing options for those displaced should be determined in the coming weeks.
Jacqueline Blackwell, a spokeswoman for the Fraser Health Authority, said it has teams in the area that are aware of the situation and are on standby, ready to provide mental and physical health support if needed. The authority has access to translators, who can be made available to ensure services are accessible to whoever needs them, she said.
The Coquitlam Foundation is accepting donations online in support of those displaced by the fire, and says it will be distributing funds between various organizations working to assist those who have lost their homes.