Some Montreal tenants have been without heat all week during bitter cold snap
Hydro-Quebec is asking people to cut back their energy consumption during the current bitter cold snap, but one building in Montreal has been without heat for almost a week causing some residents frustration.
Lynne Hostein lives on Sherbrooke St. East and is writing a novel about a woman who's struggling.
It's a subject that lately she knows all too well.
"The working title of the book that I'm working on is called 'For crying out loud,' and I really feel that sort of fits this situation. For crying out loud, get us some heat," she said.
Hostein said the heat went out last weekend.
A spokesperson for the building explained that a pipe linked to the gas furnace in the garage froze and burst, and that coupled with a power failure in the area set off a chain of events that has been difficult to repair.
"We've had teams all hands on deck working day and night including three trade vendors we work with working on-site working day and night to resolve this," said Hazelview Properties vice-president of communications Colleen Krempulec.
The common areas aren't affected and some apartments never lost heat, but for those that did, it's been a cold week.
"It's been difficult, especially at night," said Hostein. "Luckily, I have a down comforter and I just keep that over my head."
Hostein said the building gave out small space heaters to tenants, which she said didn't do much, adding that tenants were told to use their ovens as a heat source.
"Which I personally think is a fire hazard," she said.
Krempulec said they hope to have the heat on Friday in time for potentially record-breaking cold temperatures this weekend, and that back up plans are also in place.
"We have taken the initiative to procure 100 more space heaters in the event that we need to rely on that and get them out to residents," she said.
Hostein is not taking any chances and staying with a friend until the cold snap is over.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW 'She was waiting for you': The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother in England
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signalling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
'Love has no boundaries': Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Ontario family releases statement on infant son, grandparents killed in wrong-way Highway 401 crash
An Ontario family says they are 'reeling' in 'profound grief' after losing their three-month-old son and parents visiting from India in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last Monday.