Misty Fredericks still resigns herself to the fact that someone she knew and loved was found in the wreckage of the Winters Hotel 11 days after the fire that tore the building in Vancouver’s Gastown neighborhood.
Fredericks told CTV News that her aunt Mary Ann Garlow – a survivor of a residential school and a member of the Oneida Nation of the Six Nations on the Grand River – spent her entire adult life in downtown Vancouver East Side after moving to Ontario, British Columbia. when she was in her 20s, about 40 years ago.
“She lived and worked and helped people in the community for the rest of her life,” says Fredericks. “And she was an exceptional mother because she has a son who needs a supported life, and so they lived together all his life.
Colin Fox has been a friend and neighbor of Garlow’s for decades, and he remembers her as selfless.
“If you were hungry, she gave you her sandwiches, or if you need a change for something, she will give you all the money she had. She was just a donor, “he said.
“She will miss her, unfortunately.”
Garlow lived for years at the Balmoral Hotel, where he enjoyed the view of the mountains from his window, before moving to Winters Residence with his elderly son, who was badly injured when he escaped from the burning building.
“He managed to escape the fire by jumping out of the third floor window, but injured his legs. He needs reconstructive surgery on his legs, so he will be in the hospital for a while, “said Fredericks.
As a monument to Garlow and an unidentified second victim grow outside the building, Fredericks says she is not only grieving but looking for answers.
“Everyone is very sad. Very shocked by this news. We wonder how it could have happened. How come Mary Ann wasn’t found? Why was it discovered later? Why wasn’t the spray system in place? ”She asks.
“There are 71 people to be counted, she is one of them. They said they were all counted – obviously not.”
REPORT FOR BLACK PERSONS SUBMITTED
The demolition of the fire-ravaged building was halted on Friday morning when crews found the body. A few hours later, the remains of a second man were found.
It is unclear whether the two people died in or after the blaze, and Vancouver Fire Chief Karen Fry has refused to speculate on the cause of death on Friday.
“Everyone saw the fire,” she said. “It was a very big, aggressive fire and it would definitely be something – if someone is trapped – that would be very difficult to escape.
A day after the April 11 fire, BC Housing officials said no one living in the single-room hotel was unknown, but that the damage made it unsafe for firefighters to search parts of the building.
Winters Residence is managed by Atira Property Management Inc. as a supportive home. CEO Janice Abbott said on Saturday that staff and residents were deeply saddened, although they were not entirely surprised to learn that someone had died.
“The first body to be found was news. We reported missing persons last week, “she said, adding that one of the person’s family members was a longtime employee.
“It simply came to our notice then. Until the body was found, we were still hoping that it might have gone somewhere and would be found safely… I think there was a time when we just thought it would be okay because it’s been almost two weeks and I think that we thought that if there were bodies that needed to be found, they would be found by now. “
Abbott also told CTV News that Garlow had been reported missing at the Vancouver Atyrau Police Department twice, once on April 12 and again on April 15.
“Both have been canceled,” she wrote in a statement, saying further inquiries would be best addressed to the VPD.
VPD TERM OF INVESTIGATION
Asked to confirm that the reports were submitted and then canceled, a VPD spokesman said the information provided to CTV News was “incorrect”.
Const. Tanya Visintin provided a chronology of the investigation into Garlow’s missing persons file, noting that during a press conference with city officials, a department inspector “did not confirm that all persons were reported and said it was premature to claim they were.” “
On the day of the fire, Byzintin said Garlow was on a list of people who were unknown.
“Later that day, the VPD’s Missing Persons Unit was informed by Atira / BC Housing that all persons had been reported,” she said in an email.
On April 15, Visintin said police had been informed by the Winters Hotel’s housing coordinator that Garlow and two others had not been to any of the temporary shelters for displaced residents. Later that day, Visintin said a provincial welfare officer had told police that Garlow was actually in a shelter.
“Mary was no longer considered missing because Welfare was an approved verifier,” Visintin added.
On April 19, the VPD reopened the missing persons file after receiving another report from the same employee at the Winters Hotel that Garlow had not been found. On April 20, the day before the demolition began, “investigators realized that Mary may still be in the building,” Visintin said.
“VPD notified Vancouver Fire of this information so they could search for the body while carrying out the demolition.”
The buildings are usually searched twice for occupants, according to the fire department. But in this case, the risk was so great that firefighters did not have access to areas on the second floor and above. These were the residential floors of the building.
“AS A FAMILY MEMBER, THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO US”
Fry also announced on Friday that a preliminary investigation into the fire at the Winters Hotel on Abbott Street revealed that the fire was accidental and started from candles unattended.
According to Fry, the sprinklers were turned off after they were activated just three days before the devastating fire. Fire crews then issued a breach notice to service the fire safety systems, which required a fire watch until the safety system was operational again.
The fact that the sprinklers have been deactivated is a fact that continues to worry Fredericks.
“I know there is a fire that happened three days earlier and the spray system was working and the reports are that the fire department wanted to upgrade it. But no work has been done in three days? ”She says.
“They say it’s a reasonable amount of time for us not to finish this job, but as a family member it’s not acceptable to us. This sprinkler system – if it had worked three days before – could potentially help with the next fire.
Fredericks says a local ceremony in honor of her aunt is planned on the site of the Winters Hotel for April 29.
With files from CTV News from Vancouver Tahmina Aziz, Kendra Manjone and Alice Kotik
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