'we have lost everything': victims of halifax's park victoria apartment fire and their friends issue pleas for help
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halifax regional firefighters knock down a fire in an eighth-floor suite in the park victoria apartment building in halifax on saturday.
tim krochak
/
chronicle herald
tenants from the park victoria apartment in halifax that caught fire on saturday are asking for help.
sabareeshnath kadamgode puthenveedu created a gofundme campaign on the weekend for friends divya chainani, bhumika bhumika and ojas gitai saying they lost everything in the downtown building fire and need support to get back on their feet.
“earlier today, july 25, 2026, we experienced a devastating fire at park victoria apartments in halifax,” the gofundme post read.
“thankfully, all three of us are safe, and we are incredibly grateful for that. however, we have lost almost everything we owned and are now facing the overwhelming task of rebuilding our lives. the three of us … shared a three-bedroom apartment. at the time of the fire, we were inside. we are extremely thankful that everyone was able to get out safely.
“the fire caused extensive damage to our home. the fire spread into the bedrooms, kitchen and common areas. we lost our clothing, furniture, electronics, personal belongings, and irreplaceable items that we had.
“ojas is currently unemployed and bhumika just recently moved in the city. right now, we are facing the immediate challenge of finding temporary accommodation and replacing everyday essentials. starting over from scratch is incredibly daunting, and we are reaching out to (the) community for support.
“how your support helps: any contribution, big or small, will directly help us secure temporary housing and immediate shelter costs, daily essentials and clothing, basic furniture, electronics, and home supplies to restart. if you are unable to contribute financially, sharing this page with your network would mean the world to us.
“thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness, generosity, and for reminding us that we are not alone. all funds collected will be equally distributed among the three people.”
residents evacuate the park victoria apartment building in halifax after a fire broke out on the eighth floor on saturday.
tim krochak
/
chronicle herald
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the posted goal for the campaign is $10,000, with nearly $6,500 already collected from more than 100 donors by early afternoon on monday. attempts to reach the three tenants were unsuccessful.
a facebook post on the desiinights party entertainment service page, with the collaboration of khushi singh and priyanka praveen, issued similar pleas for help.
“when life changes in a matter of minutes, the road to recovery can feel impossible,” the post read.
“today’s apartment fire at park victoria has left some of our close friends with nothing. they have lost their home, their belongings, important documents, furniture, clothes, and everything they worked so hard to build over the years. no one should ever have to go through something like this.
“if you’re in a position to help, no matter how big or small the amount, please consider donating. every contribution will help them take the first steps toward rebuilding their lives. please also share this post so it reaches as many people as possible. your kindness, prayers, and support mean more than words can express. thank you to everyone who comes together in times like these.”
fewer than 10 apartments affected by the fire
rob hebb, the acting assistant chief on duty from halifax regional fire and emergency, said on monday that investigators are still trying to determine how the fire started.
“we just started this morning, so they’ve got staff over there now to start that process,” he said.
“it’s hard to put an actual timeline on it because it really depends on a number of factors. one of them, obviously, is to (assess) the damage and whatnot, and how quickly they can determine a point of origin, and then figure out at that point what actually caused it.
“so there could be a lot of sifting and a lot of moving of material and that kind of stuff. it’s a very slow, time-consuming process. they could be there for a day, a couple of days, it’s hard to say.”
halifax regional firefighters inspect the damage from a fire in an eighth-floor suite in the park victoria apartment building in halifax on saturday.
tim krochak
/
chronicle herald
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although hebb reiterated how the investigation is still in its early phases, he estimated the number of affected apartments on the day of the fire were fewer than 10. no tenants, building staff or firefighters were injured.
“i know that the fire impacted the windows in the apartment directly above it,” hebb said.
“and then there would have been some water damage in the units below as water makes its way down through the building and from the firefighting efforts on the fire floor.
“there would also have been some smoke impact in the hallway, but i don’t imagine there was a whole lot affected in other units. i don’t have all the details on that. my understanding is the day of the fire, it was a relatively low count of folks that were displaced. less than 10,” he said.
“and a lot of the reason for that was due to the fact that it was a very quick response, a quick hit on the fire, so they were able to minimize the spread to the floor above or even on the fire floor itself. they contained it to the one apartment, for the most part.”
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
no building interruptions anticipated by management
park victoria is managed by capreit and company spokesperson danny roth provided a further update on monday afternoon.
“that suite currently remains uninhabitable and, although neighbouring units sustained some minor damage as a result of firefighting response, the building has been deemed safe for re-occupancy and all other residents have been returned to their units,” he wrote in a statement.
“we are pleased to note that no injuries were reported and our emergency building systems and staff responded appropriately to the situation. we continue to communicate with building residents and have advised that we do not anticipate any ongoing interruptions to typical building services.
“we remain grateful to our staff for their professional response to the incident, for the patient and responsible actions of building residents and for the great efforts of emergency responders.”
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high-rise fire training paying off
hebb went on to explain how a major reason crews were able to contain and extinguish the fire so efficiently was because of a recent department commitment to improved training and technology specific to working in taller structures.
“i definitely wanted to highlight the efforts of the crews that day,” hebb said.
“we’ve invested a lot of time and energy and finances in our high-rise training in recent years, just due to what’s going on with building construction going up everywhere here. so we’ve been doing a lot of training, investing in a lot of equipment, and that was on full display that day. it really paid off. the crews did an amazing job.”
deputy fire chief amos robia also said that because of the nature of high-rise fires, a larger response is necessary than for a home.
crews need to carry hoses and gear up the stairs to the floor below the fire, connect the hoses to the interior water pipes and then move up to the floor where the fire is to attack the flames.
that’s one of the biggest challenges of fires in high-rise buildings, robia said, along with getting everyone there to look after all the tasks. the fact that the building is constructed of concrete and steel helps keep the fire from spreading.
residents and onlookers react as halifax regional firefighters knock down a fire at the park victoria apartment building in halifax on saturday.
tim krochak
/
chronicle herald
restaurant clean-up went quickly, says owner
liz ingram-chambers is the owner of le bistro by liz restaurant on the ground floor of the building directly below the fire. she also commended the fire crews for the outstanding response and described how her space and business were affected by the midday blaze.
“guests were evacuated at 11:30 a.m.,” she wrote in an email.
“(the) fire department was so fast responding. our team proceeded to turn off propane and various other electrical ovens. (the) team vacated. since we were on the base floor, we got back in to start cleaning up and managing water gushing through our ceiling.
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“our staff helped to take care of tenants displaced, letting them in to use washroom facilities, water dogs and people waiting on the lawn as well,” ingram-chambers continued.
“approximately 300 litres of water was caught coming through the ceiling in the back part of our bistro. our storage rooms, electrical room, back hallway from the emergency exit from upstairs were all flooded as well. it was about a five-hour cleanup for my wonderful staff and myself. we did manage to open for dinner service at 5 (p.m.). only half our bistro could open.
“on sunday we were able to fully open. we are so lucky and no one was hurt. we are very grateful.”
park victoria resident surha patnaikmi looks up at the damage from an eighth-floor fire in the building on saturday. le bistro is the restaurant directly below the damaged unit.
willy palov
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chronicle herald
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