Neighbors on evacuation standby expressed concern about entering after residents of the apartment building were ordered out

A five-story Winnipeg apartment building that was evacuated earlier this month due to structural problems is facing some uncertainty after residents in the houses surrounding it said they should be prepared to leave with little notice.

Homeowners who spoke to CBC News said their main concern is for their displaced neighbors in Birchwood Terrace, but they have questions about what prompted the evacuation and how the apartment complex was allowed to deteriorate.

“It's very sad,” said Mike Dumka, whose family received the evacuation notice two weeks ago. “You get a little angry, yeah, because you're like, 'How is this going to happen? How does a building get to this state?'

On the night of May 9, the City of Winnipeg invoked emergency management regulations and ordered the owner of Birchwood Terrace to vacate the west Winnipeg building immediately due to hazardous conditions.

The order cited an inspection by a consulting engineer, which found that the block had deteriorated in the park, which appeared to affect the stability of the entire building.

Dumka, who lives with his wife and children just west of the apartment building at 2440 Portage Ave., said a Winnipeg police officer and a city official knocked on his door that night.

“It's like, 'Holy shit, what's going on?' It was like that,” said Dumka. “They gave us an evacuation notice to tell us what to prepare for.

People in 30 houses along Olive Street and Assiniboine Crescent are ready to leave. The city says the evacuation alert will remain in effect until further notice.

“I said, 'Do we need to pack something?' I thought,” said Dumka. “And they say: 'We will come, and then you will have 10 minutes,' if the order to evacuate is given.”

Dumka said the trip initially left him “shaky”, but his thoughts immediately turned to the approximately 250 people living in the block of flats who were forced to leave their homes.

“(For them) it's a real impact because it's their life,” he said. “Some people have been there for over 20 years.”

Pedestrians have to go around

Dumka, his wife, two sons and two dogs have places to live if their home is ordered to evacuate.

“In any case, we have some things prepared,” Dumka said, but he was given few more details about why it was necessary to evacuate the neighboring houses.

“If the renovations fail and the building collapses, we will tell you then,” he said.

He feels at home at a safe distance from the apartment.

The city previously said evacuations of neighboring homes could occur if the structural condition of the apartment building warrants it.

City officials went door-to-door for the second time in a week after the evacuation, telling homeowners there was still an evacuation standby and answering any questions, spokeswoman Calen Qualley said in an email.

“We intend to check in with these property owners from time to time,” the city spokeswoman said.

Ladco Company Ltd. owns Birchwood Terrace. Henry Borger, vice president of the company, declined to be interviewed. He said in a text message that the company did not have any information about the condition of the apartment building.

The apartment is now surrounded by fencing, which extends from the public sidewalk to the edge of the road along Portage Avenue, blocking access to the normally empty crossing on Whytewold Road.

The fence also surrounds play structures at city-owned Birchwood Park.

According to Qualley, the road along the sidewalk in front of the apartment was closed as a precaution at the request of the building owner's general contractor.

It will remain closed until further notice, he said.

Area resident Colleen Morrison also received an evacuation alert, but said she was more concerned about pedestrians losing access to the busy intersection.

“Elderly people or people with small children … have to walk up to Mount Royal or Moray to cross the street,” he said, going around several blocks. “Otherwise they have to walk.”

She tried to call the city's 311 service to express her concerns, she said.

Morrison also said her heart aches for the apartment residents who had to leave.

“There were a lot of elderly people who had been living in this building for a long time,” he said. “I don't know where they are going.”