For some residents, it started off with a pungent odor that caused a burning sensation in their throats. For others, it started when the fire alarm went off. Early on Sunday morning, residents of the apartment building on Elliott Road in West Kelowna were led out with their homes that had been declared unsafe.
An extensive investigation by the West Kelowna Fire Department has failed to determine the source or nature of the odor and residents are relocated until they are determined.
“The reports we received from the residents we met upon our arrival were sufficient to determine that we needed to take action,” said Jason Brolund, West Kelowna fire chief, “and people are leaving the building to let.”
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“From what I’ve heard, it was less of a smell than an irritant, like people’s throats closing, difficult to breathe, coughing,” he explained.
“These are all things that we took very seriously,” said Chief Brolund. But the door-to-door investigation found nothing.
“Our boys just hoped that by the next door, as much as we didn’t want to find anything, we could at least find something and maybe deal with it, but that wasn’t the case, which just kind of contributed to this secret.”
During the evacuation order, residents are available for up to three days of accommodation.
The client has hired a private contractor to determine the cause of the problem.
“We are waiting for this report,” said Brolund. “And we’ll use that to find out when people can go home.”
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