TORONTO – NEWS – Toronto Hydro has dodged danger after disconnecting hydro to an apartment building in the city. The situation has left 700-1000 resident without water, heat and electric power.
Toronto Hydro has disconnected electrical power at a privately-owned apartment building at 260 Wellesley St. E. on orders from the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) to avoid a catastrophic event and prolonged power outage due to flooding and a leak in an electrical room. In response, the City of Toronto is coordinating assistance for the approximately 700 to 1,000 residents of the 33-storey building who are without water, heat and electricity.
A warming centre has been established at the Wellesley Community Centre, 495 Sherbourne St., and the TTC is providing buses to serve as warming sites at the building. At the Wellesley Community Centre residents can warm up, charge their mobile devices and receive snacks and water. Red Cross will also be onsite to provide information and services.
At this time, building residents are free to remain in their units. Toronto Fire Services has issued an order requiring the building owner to hire security personnel to conduct a fire watch until further notice. The Canadian Red Cross will assist Toronto Fire in performing door-to-door wellness checks of the residents.
Earlier this afternoon, a water supply pipe burst in the building’s garbage disposal room and water leaked into the electrical room. The action taken to turn off the power ensured there was no catastrophic or large scale electrical failure. With no electricity to the building, fire and life safety protection systems are offline, triggering Toronto Fire Services to issue the order for the fire watch.
The building’s property management company, Wellesley Parliament Square Property Management, has an electrician on site to make repairs. Toronto Hydro is standing by to reconnect power as soon as repairs are completed and the ESA has approved the work. Also onsite is Toronto Fire Services to assist with inspections and monitor the situation. An investigation is ongoing and there is no timeline yet on when power will be restored.
