City of Cranbrook thankful for support to Knights Hall evacuees

The City of Cranbrook and Cranbrook Fire & Emergency Services are thanking local businesses, organizations and residents who did their part to help those who were displaced following the Knight’s Hall Fire in late November.

The fire resulted in one injury while twenty-four residents were forced from their homes.

In response, the City formed the Unmet Needs Committee to bring local and regional support agencies together and address needs that could not be met by the emergency program.

Staff and volunteers from seventeen organizations either joined the committee or provided other assistance.

View more information from the City of Cranbrook below:

The City of Cranbrook, and Cranbrook Fire & Emergency Services would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the organizations, businesses and individuals that came through in support of those residents impacted by the Knight’s Hall Fire on November 24, 2022.

“It is extremely difficult when a fire displaces all of the residents in a multi-family rental occupancy. It is even harder in the winter and harder still in such a difficult housing market. The City’s role in emergency response includes Emergency Support Services, but that is designed to supplement the emergency needs of an individual for a three-day period. It was clear from the outset that three days wasn’t going to be long enough,” says Scott Driver, Director, Cranbrook Fire & Emergency Services.

“In this case, it was identified early on by emergency program staff that the needs of the displaced occupants was likely going to exceed the available supports of our traditional systems. It was necessary to set in motion an ‘unmet needs committee’, bringing our local and regional social support agencies together, to effectively address the needs of residents that could not be met through the Emergency Program,” Driver adds.

In the days and weeks following the fire, the unmet needs committee was made up of, or reached out to many agencies and individuals and we would like to thank:

Sandman Hotel, Days Inn, Salvation Army, Denny’s Restaurant, Real Canadian Superstore, Free Spirit Travel, Canadian Red Cross, Ktunaxa Nation, Community Connections, BC Housing, Interior Health, Ministry of Social Development & Poverty Reduction, Cranbrook RCMP Detachment, BC Ambulance Service, Emergency Management BC, and the East Kootenay Emergency Management Program staff.

It is this willingness of so many good people to help, that creates a community we can all be proud to call home.

– Submitted by the City of Cranbrook