PAGE 26, WHITBYFPREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1990 Fre destroy saprtmentbuldn By Mike KWalsId Arson bas been determined as the cause of a spectacular early- morning firew h left 200 resi- dents o a Garden St. apartment building bomelesThursda. Whitby Fire Chief Ed &rouch conflrmed Tuesday tbat arson was te blanie for tbe blaze wbicb caused about $3 million damage. However, Cronch preferrèd not te comment further as the mat- ter is now under police investiga- tion. No tenants were ijured but five Whitby firefighters had te be treated for smoke inhalation as a result of the fire which gutted several apartments in the 56- unit building at 200 Garden St. Four of the firefigbters are back at work but -a fiftb remains off-duty pending a medicai report. Crouch saidtbe fire and one at Cullen Gardens last year were the most sen'ops hebas encoun- tered in his 21 years witb the depatment. "This was definitely the worst because so many peopie were involved " said Croucb. It took 50 firefigbters from WhitbyOshawa and Ajax-almost fin bums te extinguish the blaze which broke ont after nid- Iniialy th frewas confined. te the north end of the three- stery building but it soon broke throngh te the roof. Since the roof was constructed of wood, with a tam and gravel covering,.this helped feed the flanies said fire department offi- ciais at the scene. Soon after the first unit from the Whitby Fire Departmnent arrived it was apparent-helpwas required.* Through an agreement with neighboingOshawa and Ajax additional units were pressed inte action. Police erected barricades .on Garden and Mary Streets and rerouted traffic away from the area. While firefighters poured water onte the flazues, tenants. watched anxiously from the street or were taken to the Sai- vation Ammy temple on Kent St. for emergency clothing and acco- modation. Tenant. John Rainford arrived home fromn work about 1:30 a.m. te find the building ablaze and bis fanxily huddled together in a nearby automobile. Wi eLUsa and daughters Asb- ley, 4, and Sarah, 1,. bad te, be Communtity responds FROM PAGE i were planning to o pen a trust fund at the Bank of Nova Scotia for people wishing to make a financial contribution. The company aiso donated $2,000 of its own money to get the fund off the ground. «We want te start a fundrais- ing drive in the business com- munity, we want to get local business involved,» saici spokes- man John Craine. Although fire victins were able te use the Salvation Army's Kent St. temple for sheiter and food during the early morning hours Thursday, Leslie McFar- lane Public Scbooi soon became the focal p oint of relief efforts. Liocated immediately north of the apartment building, classes were cancelled at the school Thursday. The gynnasium was used as an emergency heusing egistry by regional social workers to help tenants find accomodation. Regional officiais put up at least 19 families at two motels Thursday night. Donations of food, clothing and toys were also kept in the gym until arrangements te use the Cobi Foods plant were compie- ted. So many items were donated that a 12-ton truck used te take the goods to the plant was filled to capacity by mid-afternoon Fi- da.h1 Schol rincipal Thom Park paid Whitbys commnnity spirit became evient early. "We had people waik in, phone-in and volunteer their ser- vice. It's been a positive response from the community yon can't ask for anything LIotter than that," said Park. Jacck McL-ellacn FROM PAGE 1 services te small businesses in Durhami Begion. "I think Fn eady now te launch a canmpaign on the com- mercial world," says McLielian. 'The banner program is for con- panies with special promotions. I hope te mun the business by phone and by fax." He is also a meresentative for the March of Dimes, and co- chairman of the Committee for Independence in Living and Breathing. McLellan is comnitted te the go ai of moving ventilater-depen- dent persons out of institutions and back inte the community. At night, McLellan bas teý be hôôked up te, a ventilater te assiat him in breathing, and he needs machines te, suction fluid away fron bis lunns «Part of the impetus for nov- ing out of the hospital is econo- mic," says McLellan. "lIt costs $460 a day te. keep me here.» One of the criticisms McLellan bas is that Mis stay in the hospi- tai is covered by OHIP wbereas, if a gronp of ventilator-depen- dent persons were te live i an apartment con plez, they would net be eli *ble for coverage througb h11'. He says that Vancouver bas a model living facility that be wonld like te, see in Durbam Region. «M Ithey put eight of usinto our own apartment, the savings could beý 50 per cent," says Melian. He says the eight people ceuld share staff wbo wonld attend te their daily came. Melellan strives for indepen- dence. One of bis newest keys te independence is bis wheelchair named 'Si 'n Puif - The Magic Dragon!Ne calis it the cadila of wheelcbairs, with a few eccen- tricities. The cost of the chair is equivalent te, a full-sized moter car and was supplied by the Marcb of Dîmes. It tilts, reclines and communi- cates witb a computer-type machine named TOSC, tbrough wbich McLellan can operate bis radie, TV lamp, fans and assis- tance alans. I as five operat- ing modes which McIellan nani- piiiates by sipping and pufflng throngh a straw- e tube, atta- cbed te the chair. The chair travels up to, 12 miles an boum. It took a lot of trial and- error, but now the two operate as a teain. The chair gives McLellan a new mobility that bas enabled him te focus on other enterprises., such as the flyer business. The dive inte the pool te, retrieve a frisbee seven years ago may have broken bis neck, but itbasn't. broken bis spirit. And Mis family and friends are witb bin 100 per cent. rescned by ladder from theiû' second-floor apatment balcony. «They*jnst got »ont with their night c ohes on," said Rainford, "my wife didn't a chance te get shoes for the baby." Rainford had no idea how extensively bis apatment may have been damaged but suspec- ted the worst. «I won't know until I get in but I tbink everything's gone." The -Rainfords, who did not tÇamry fire insumance, had lived in the building since August 1989. Wbile he ,had no knowiedge of what caused the fire, Rainford noted that the building bad "no security". «The back door dosen't lock, theres ne secnrity locks on the doors." Mark Watson of 560 Mary St., E., watched'the fire from a unique perspective. He video- taped the blaze and firefigbters' effo a te contain it. "We watched it pretty well since it started. It was bard te tell bow high the flaines were, we saw windows blow ont," said Watson. About 3:30- a.m. Watson star- ted filming. He kept his camera roliing for two hours. «It was incredibie to watch. People should be proud of their fire department," said Watson. Watson later gave the tape te fire depatment officiais wbo were planning te make a copy for their own use. After determining that the fire was ont, firefighters began mop- up operations which consumed most of the day. At least tbree feet of water wbich bad collected in the base- ment by the time the. hoses were turned off, had to be pumped out. Investigators from the Ontaridi Fire Marshall's office, fire departmnent and Durham Regional Police were at the site Friday sifting through the rub- ble. Accordinq to- officiais, fire broke outtim the centre Of the building and was pushed b winds te, the north along the roof. 'The torth end is completely gone, there's a lot of water iaae,"saidCrouch. Wh1e some tenants' wersn aliowed back .into their apart- ~ments to retrieve personal items and valuables it wili be some time if ever, before the building is ruled safe for occupancy. A fire department spokesman said that decision will eventuaily be made by the Town's building department. In addition to investigating the fire's cause, officiais had te, deter- mine why the buildings fire alarms were not ringing when firefighters first arrived on the scene. Crouch said the alarme were working but the system was not activated until about 20 minutes after firefighters arrived. "I guess one would have te, assume that no one thonght te, pull the alarm," said Crouch. Crouch had no previous.know- ledge of the alarms not function- ing during another fire in the building earlier this year. A tenant told the Free Press that a fire in a garbage chute last summier did not trigger the alarm. However, building-owner Man- jit Sehdev denied that either the central alarm system or smoke detectors in the apartments were faulty.. Sehdev said the reson the alarm did not go off was that no tenant bothered te punil it. "You have te pull the aiar forý it te come on, no one pulled it. I pulled the aiarm and it went off," said Sehdev. As for smoke detectors. not sounding, Sehdev said there was not enough smüoke in the majority of apartments te trigger the detectors.., Sehdev, who has owned the *buildin since 1984, said "90 per cent" oF the tenants were safely ontside when. he puiled the aiarmi. He expressed concern abont the tenants' plight, especially for those recently arrived in Canada.- Sehdev said 26 families from countries such as India, Pakis- tan, Viet Nam and the Fiji Islands were living in the buiid ~ine claimed that thîs relativeiy high percentage of non-white tenants was not a coincidence. "If you're from India or a col- ored person and with children, yon can't get an apartment here, you're out of iuck," said Sehdev. Recent immigrants te .Canada knew that they wouid have no probiem finding an apartment in his building should a vacancy occur he added. Recyc, l'ing chairman fires1 back'. FROM PAGE 1 ments made in iight of last week's announcement. Emm said both Oshawa coun- cillor John, Aker and Brock Township Mayor Don Hadden, councii's representatives on the board of directors, attonded a Se t. 24 board meeting. Eîmm said information was dis- tributed at the meeting which deait witb. the situation at the centre. The materiai included a legal oiinconcerning the Region's terintien notice and a nemo fron centre manager Glenda Gies. explaining severance pay requirements. A discussion followed about what should be done if the Region's contract was-net exten- ded further said Enin. At that point Emm had te, leave the meeting for a previons commitnent. According te the minutes of the meeting, Enin said Aker tben requested staff te leave and there is ne fnrtber record of what transpired. «When staff eturned the meet- ing was adjourned- because of lack of a quorum," said Emni. Another meeting was heid three days later but neither Aker nor Hadden were present. It was at this meeting that the decision te, close the centre was made. Enn said he was informed by sone board members that during the closed door session of the Sept. 24 meeting, Akermnade «nnikind"remamks about him. «When I left hie teld the board in my absence that ny being on the boamd upset some Regional conncillors," said Emni. 'Tve put a lot of energy and time inte this, my contribution is on the record, it speaks for itself.» Emm said Aker was "net tel- ling the full stery" and bas "a lot oexplaining td.. "Let's get the trutb on the table the workers shouid* know exactý what's going on," said Emni. Aker, co-chairman of the waste management committee, was net available for comment. 1Emin said Durham Region Chairman Gary Herrema pro- mised centre staff last year thley wonld be hired afcer the contract ex9red.m said he bas received no Indication that this wili in- deed'leur. 1 Eaî hem this year I moved a motion that our workers bepro- tected.' It's neyer been actedon by Regional council." Emm still cannot understand why the Region *wants toeut ties with the c'entre. He said the blue box program now serves 109,000O households in Durhami and the centre has been recognized in many quar!ý ters for its efforts. «None of onrmnaterial goest landfill sites, we're under budget and we're growing,» said-Emni. "TMe reason for this is our workers, theyre a big part of it." The majority of centre workers are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Repr>esentative John. Cherry, said lus members would prefer the Region take responsibihity for the centre so they could become Reionêmployees.th "- sbonld'give the contract bakt the mecyling centre and continue the marrife,' said Cherry. He said the issue bas become a «political, football" and at this ,point the workers are the losers. "Ites one bell of a Christmas presei ,nt," said -Cherry. School --e'n'rolment FROM PAGE 2 industrial complex) to 485 this year. Last year the school was Soprsd of only grades 9 and 10. Tis*yeam it bas grades 9, 10 and 11. Ail students began classes in the new school. this week. St. Benard's went from 414 students i 1989/90.te a current enrolment of -554 students. St. John tbe Evangelist shows thea most significant decrease in enrolment, from 797 students last year te 407 as of Sept. 30,' 1990. The decrease comes after a nove by 359 students te the new Blessed Marguerite D'Youville school. SSt. Mattbew the Evangelaa new elementary echool, h as an enrolment of 337. St. Pauls bas 527 students this year co .mpared te 692 last year and St. Therees' bas 566 this year compared teo 618 last year.. Student enroument for Charles Garnier Secondary School ICI remains the saine, at '196 stu- dent. Students fromi the Mrench- spge secondary school are expectedto move into Fr. Leo J. Austin (botb French-speaking and Englisb-speaking secondaiy sehool) iNovember, 1990. lIn total the separate scbool system picked up 389 new stu- dents. "lIt normal tbat we're going te sSe tbose increases; every year until weget te OAC," says chair- man Cathelrine Tunney. She says therenmayea rise ini Cathohce school supporters nov- ieginto Whitby. "Whitbhy is mn the best shap it's ever been in, in years,'agys TnÜnney. "More and more families are moiving in with young ebil- dren. 'There seems te be more Catholic fainilies moving into Whlitby "We'e able te offer more and more neigbbombood sebools. That conld be, wby were attracting more Cathohic familles te our system'w