Residents displaced by Chatham fire retrieve belongings, describe grief and disbelief

Residents of 99 McNaughton Ave. W., in Chatham, Ont., surveyed the remains of their homes Tuesday after a fire that tore through the building on Sunday displaced more than 120 people.

The municipally-owned, rent-geared-to-income apartment complex went up in flames early Sunday morning.

Tenants described a state of disbelief at watching the building burn.

"I just saw a great big huge orange flame, and I thought, 'Oh my God,'" said Susan Stoddart, who lived in the building for 12 years.

"It was almost like a nightmare."

Stoddart has a CPAP machine, a device used to treat sleap apnea, and didn't notice the sound of the alarm until around 5:45 a.m., she said.

At first, she thought it was a false alarm. But then there was a bang on the door and a voice warning her there was an active fire.

"So of course I grab my cell phone and my cigarettes thinking that it was just a small fire, and I'd be allowed to go back in to get whatever I need," she said.

"Which wasn't the case. It was a big fire."

Stoddart is one of dozens of residents who are now currently staying at a Holiday Inn.

They've been told they'll be there until at least Sept. 15, she said. 

Asked which personal belongings she was hoping to retrieve from her home on Tuesday, Stoddart, who turns 76 on Wednesday, named essentials such as her breathing machine, her laptop, her passport and the keys for her scooter.

Stoddart said she was grateful that none of her friends were injured in the blaze, but she has not eaten or slept well since it happened, and she's frustrated that she can't plan for the future because she doesn't know what it holds.

"I've been waking up every three to four hours with the flashbacks," she said.