Families struggling to find new accommodations after losing homes in SE Calgary condo fire
Posted Jun 27, 2024 7:56 am.
Dozens of southeast Calgary residents are still trying to pick up the pieces after their homes burned down Sunday night.
Denise Cushing and her kids are among those who were living in the 48-unit Prestwick Villas condo building and are now left wondering what’s next.
“It’s scary, we’re all in shock right now,” she told CityNews.
Her kids, eight and 11-years-old, were at the condo with their father when they noticed something was wrong.
“He smelled a bunch of smoke and, from what he told me, he went into the condo and got the kids and they started to run down the stairs and then the alarm started going off,” Cushing said. “He called me as soon as they got outside and I was about an hour away from the house, so we got in the truck and drove as fast as we could to get there.”
As she got home, she thankfully found her family safe, but realized they no longer had a home.
“It was just jam-packed with police, firefighters, and so many people, I’ve never seen anything like that before,” she said. “We have a direct view of our condo from my mom’s place and we just watched it burn. I saw the flames inside — the roof, everything was just destroyed.”
The experience has been especially difficult for her kids.
“They’re scared, they’re confused, they’ve just lost they’re own tiny world, all of their items and belongings, their life,” Cushing said.
Calgary’s housing market is now offering the family a new challenge, as they try to find a new place to live.
“It is expensive, but there’s nothing available,” Cushing said. “And now we have 50 families that are out of homes in our neighbourhood. There’s absolutely nothing, so we are likely going to have to move out of the city.
“I wanted to get a bigger place because my children are getting older, but there’s absolutely nothing, so we are likely going to have to move out of the city.”
Recent data from Rate Hub shows Calgary ranked fourth in terms of worsening affordability with the average home price in the city at $587,100, up $6,200 from April to May.
According to the report, someone would need a household income of $120,000 in order to buy a home in Calgary. That number is up just over $1,000 compared to a month ago.
The prospect of having to look for a new place to live after a tragedy, is something the mother of two says she never thought she would go through.
“I don’t imagine there’s much left up there. We’ve done a list last night, and our insurance isn’t going to cover half of it, so that’s pretty eye-opening situation for us,” Cushing said.
Cushing and her family aren’t the only ones left to deal with this traumatizing experience.
Online, GoFundMe’s have been set up for her family and other’s who have lost everything.
She says the support during her darkest time has been incredible, offering a glimmer of hope for the future.
“I’ve been a single mom for five years and I’ve been doing this pretty much on my own full time, and it’s hard to accept help but in times like this you have to, there’s no other choice,” Cushing said.
“Everyone around me is amazing.”
The Red Cross set up a reception centre in the area to assess the needs of displaced residents immediately following the fire with the help of the Calgary Police Service (CPS) and Alberta Health Services (AHS).
In a post to a community group on social media, a resident said the amount of items collected for those who lost their homes is “staggering” but said the true issue lies in finding places for everyone to stay.
The McKenzie Towne Council’s website says as of Wednesday, 14 families are still in need of accommodation.
Those interested in lending a helping hand can find out how to do so at mtcouncil.com/relief
-With files from Lisa Grant
