park victoria fire victims blown away by support from nova scotians: 'we are beyond grateful'
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residents evacuate the park victoria apartment building in halifax after a fire broke out on the eighth floor on saturday. it was the home of divya chainani, bhumika bhumika and ojas gitai.
tim krochak
/
the chronicle herald
three roommates who lost everything in a weekend fire in halifax are blown away by the way nova scotians have rallied to support them.
divya chainani, bhumika bhumika and ojas gitai shared a three-bedroom apartment at park victoria that went up in flames on saturday, destroying all of their possessions. the three young professionals are all from india and have lived in the city for several years, but none of them have family in the area.
without that built-in support system, friends went to bat for them on facebook and gofundme to try to raise money and solicit household donations like furniture and kitchen utensils.
they had tenant insurance at one point, but their policy was not up to date, so they will be out of pocket for everything they need to get back on their feet.
true to the kind and generous nature nova scotians are known for, the local community rushed to their aid.
“i first moved here to study at smu (saint mary’s university) and that has been my experience with the people here right from when i got here. people are so nice,” said chainani, who spoke with the chronicle herald.
“i’ve considered moving to different cities or different provinces, but nothing is like nova scotia. we have had this conversation amongst ourselves as well that nothing feels warmer than the east coast, so i’m really happy and glad to be part of (the community) in halifax.”
onlookers watch as halifax regional fire crews knock down a fire in an eighth-floor suite in the park victoria apartment building on saturday.
tim krochak
/
chronicle herald
just three days after sabareeshnath kadamgode puthenveedu started the gofundme campaign, more than 140 donors had already come through to meet roughly 75 per cent of the $10,000 goal. most of the donations were anonymous, again demonstrating that nova scotians just want to help when someone is in need.
“we are beyond grateful to all the people who are helping in this situation,” chainani said.
“it’s definitely tough. we are trying to keep ourselves strong and together, but i’m definitely blessed and grateful to all the people here who are trying to help us figure this out and help us get over the situation.”
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in the immediate aftermath of the fire, the three friends found emergency lodging through the red cross. but that was only temporary, so they’re leaning on friends for somewhere to sleep and are borrowing clothes because they only had what they were wearing when they rushed out of their apartment on saturday.
residents evacuate the park victoria apartment building in halifax after a fire broke out on the eighth floor on saturday.
tim krochak
/
chronicle herald
“until we find a place for ourselves, we are at our friends’ mercy,” said chainani, who earned a masters of science in computing and data analytics from smu in 2020.
“thankfully, i think god has blessed me with really great friends who are helping and supporting me in this tough time. so i am at their mercy, and they are helping me figure out things a lot, so i’m really grateful to them.”
chainani knows they will eventually be able to replace their material possessions, but she is heartbroken they can never get back their prized sentimental belongings.
“i had been living at that place for a really long time – six years – so i had lots of things which were part of my memories,” chainani said. “whenever i would travel, i would get a fridge magnet from the places i went. now i’ve lost all of those and so many other things that were personal to me.
“like my jewelry that was given to me by my mom and dad on one of my birthdays back in 2023. i’ve lost that. and when i graduated from smu, i had my graduation certificate and all the memories from school and from the friends i made there. it’s a lot.”
halifax regional firefighters work to extinguish a fire in an eighth-floor suite in the park victoria apartment building in halifax on saturday.
tim krochak
/
chronicle herald
their old apartment is also uninhabitable because of how badly it is damaged, and there are no vacant units for them at park victoria, so the trio is scrambling to find a new place to live in a city that is in the thick of a housing shortage.
“i’m actively looking for a new place and i want to get a place as soon as possible, but it’s been hard,” chainani said.
halifax regional fire and emergency investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire, but concluded soon after extinguishing it that the sturdy concrete building was safe for the other tenants to return to their apartments.
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a spokesperson for building management also said a small number of nearby units sustained minor damage, but the tenants in those apartments were not inconvenienced in any significant way.
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