Salvation Army Booth Centre in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, evacuated after sprinkler-caused flooding

All 53 residents of the Salvation Army Booth Centre in Brantford were evacuated on Oct. 27 after the building’s sprinkler system caused extensive flooding. The centre, at Clarence and Dalhousie streets in downtown Brantford, is an emergency shelter and community support facility that provides housing, meals and social services, mainly for men and male-identified individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

In a statement, the Salvation Army said a furnace malfunction in the building triggered the sprinklers. The statement said residents were “safely relocated or moved to unaffected areas of the building quickly and without incident.”

Residents who could not stay in the building were placed elsewhere. Tim Philp, executive director of Rosewood House, a shelter for the homeless on Nelson Street, said the shelter took in about a dozen people displaced from the Booth Centre on Tuesday, and that others were put up in local motels. Philp said Rosewood worked with the city and SOAR, which coordinates emergency shelter intake, to house everyone. He said Rosewood had already been preparing for a higher intake as colder weather approached, and that it is at capacity with 52 people, which he said is usually the case.

The Salvation Army said the immediate situation has been stabilized and that contractors were onsite to support cleanup and assess the damage. “Initial inspections have identified significant damage to the building’s heating and ventilation system and fire panel,” the statement said. It added that further inspections and repairs will be required to determine the full scope of the work. A staff-managed fire watch is in place while assessments and repairs continue.

The organization said it has worked closely with its service providers to coordinate next steps. “The safety and well-being of residents and staff remain the top priority,” the statement said. It also said that while some clients have been brought back, residents will not return to the affected areas until assessments and repairs are complete and those areas have been deemed safe for occupancy.

The article also cited City of Brantford data from June 30 showing 559 people experiencing homelessness in Brantford-Brant, including 240 who meet the definition of chronically homeless and 120 known individuals living unsheltered. Philp said “the entire capacity for the (shelter) system doesn’t come close to meeting the need,” and he expressed concern that any loss of beds at the Booth Centre while repairs are underway could lead to some people sleeping rough.

Source: Read the original report