Historic Halifax rowhouses evacuated after fire officials fear retaining wall collapse

Residents of a row of attached brick houses in Halifax known as the Twelve Apostles could be out of their homes for up to two weeks after engineers Monday deemed a razed building behind the houses a hazard.

Fire destroyed the commercial building at 5426 Portland Place on Sunday, leaving a blackened hulk between the Staples store on Gottingen Street and the row houses on Brunswick Street.

The engineer hired by the insurance company deemed the remaining wall to be a hazard so we had to evacuate the residents for their safety, said Lloyd Currie, divisional commander for the Halifax regional fire service.

This is the second time residents have been forced out of their homes due to the fire.

I woke up Sunday morning and all I heard was water on the roof, said Faron Felix, a student at NSCAD University.

At first I thought it was rain, but then I realized it was too heavy and then I felt the heat from the blaze behind us and saw the big wall of orange flames.

Felix and his roommate had been happy to get back into their building but were told late Monday to leave again.

Jill MacLellan has lived in one of the units for over three years. She stood talking with a few residents as firefighters, police officers and Red Cross workers gathered at the site. Her cat, Henry, sprawled in a carrier, unaffected by the goings on.

This is a beautiful old building; theyre really unique with lots of character, she said.

MacLellan would be staying at her brothers place in Fall River.

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Historic Halifax rowhouses evacuated after fire officials fear retaining wall collapse