Bradford apartment building tenants still waiting to go home one year after fire

One year ago this week, a massive fire ripped through a Bradford apartment building on Holland Street, forcing everyone in its 84 units out leaving 118 people homeless.

Today the building is surrounded by scaffolding and fencing.

The building owners say they are now ready to move forward with repairs that will eventually lead to its reopening.

"Our team has finally received the building permits from the town that we have been waiting for," said Danny Roth, spokesperson for the building at 114 Holland Street. "Those permits are necessary to complete the remaining steps of the restoration and reconstruction work."

Roth can't say when residents will be allowed back into their apartments, but he does expect the work to get underway this month.

Thirty-five of the 84 leases have been maintained by those who lived in the building.

Bradford Mayor Rob Keffer said the community stepped up to help many displaced residents. "It's been difficult for the people that were forced out of their apartment building to find other accommodations."

The Town of Bradford assisted by giving about $108,000 to those in need through its Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve.

The County of Simcoe gave the same amount of money to help those forced out of their homes.

"We were the only place where people could go for in-person support," said Jodi Greenstreet, with the local group WOW Living.

"We had 38 families register with us, and we're still in contact with some of them. Our Bradford community crushed it. They provided furniture, they provided meals, they provided gas cards, they provided grocery cards," said Greenstreet.

Still, for the tenants wanting to return home, it's still a waiting game.

WOW Living said it is currently helping those affected by the fire and encourages anyone who needs support to come forward.