Heating issues, water damage from burst pipe plaguing downtown Edmonton condo

Dehumidifiers lined the lobby of a downtown Edmonton condo building Monday after residents say a pipe burst on the fifth floor.

The company that manages the Cambridge Lofts on Jasper Avenue says the sprinkler system froze after a window was accidentally left open in a vacant unit.

Crews were busy soaking up water on the first few floors of the building. Photos shared with CityNews by a resident showed water pouring out of a light fixture.

Residents say some units lost heat Monday.

“I was notified that there was a flood and the heating went off,” said Solomon Eluwa, who owns multiple units in the building. “I have a tenant in one of my units and then I stay in one of the other units.

“So right now, because I knew there was no heat, I came in with heaters to augment. Because it’s really cold right now, so you can understand that you need to stay warm.”

Fire crews were called in late Sunday. Residents were allowed to return to their units, but many say they voluntarily evacuated, adding they were grateful to have tenant’s insurance.

Those who have heat in their units say it’s not doing much. They say they’ve been without heat in the hallways for the past five days.

One resident even loaned CityNews a meat thermometer – the temperature dropped to -8 C when put in an air vent.

A resident says over the weekend, the air was even colder, sharing a video with CityNews showing the temperature dropping to -12 C.

This isn’t the first time residents in this building have been without heat. In 2017, CityNews spoke with residents living in the very same building who had to cope with cold temperatures inside.

The condo is now under different management. A spokesperson for FirstService Residential tells CityNews all individual units have access to heat.

“We are now working closely with all appropriate parties to address the issue as quickly as possible and restore heat in our hallways and common areas.

“We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused our residents and will continue communicating updates with them as they become available.”

Owners say they are happy with the communication, hoping the situation gets sorted out quickly and things get back to normal as soon as possible.

“It should be up and running in no time, at least that’s my assumption,” Eluwa said.

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