George Mapson is currently switching back and forth between two stages of grief鈥攖here鈥檚 acceptance and there鈥檚 anger.

鈥淚鈥檓 trying to focus on the acceptance,鈥� said Mapson, the strata president for Water鈥檚 Edge, just five days after his home burned down.

鈥淲e, as a strata, have a new slogan鈥攊t鈥檚 鈥榤ake every day better鈥� and that鈥檚 what we want to do for our strata members.鈥�

Since fire engulfed his Truswell Road condo unit along with six others, acceptance has been manifesting itself in working around the clock to find clarity on what the days ahead hold for the men and women who were sent from their homes.

鈥淲e鈥檙e a unique community,鈥� he said. 鈥淥f the 65 units, 90 per cent were occupied by seniors. We were a close knit family before, now we鈥檙e even closer.鈥�

Within a day of the fire that left one-third of the six-storey building in cinders and the rest uninhabitable, they had a meeting at the Willow Park Church鈥攁 group he said has been tremendously supportive in the residents鈥� hour of need.

At that point it was just a matter of discussing what was to happen next, much of which being contingent on the 91大黄鸭 Fire Department returning posession of the building to the strata.

That happened Monday and right away Mapson and his fellow strata members started organizing the arrival of engineers, restoration companies, insurance adjusters and everyone who is going to be key to getting a grip on when and how the building can go back into use.

While there鈥檚 no firm details yet, it looks like residents of the building will have to find a new home for anywhere from one to three years.

鈥淔or some of us, that鈥檚 hard,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have a 90 year old woman in our complex and she said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 have a lot of years to sort this out.鈥欌��

While only seven units burned down, the other 58 have suffered smoke and water damage. What looks fine one day takes a turn for the worse the next.

鈥淪prinklers went off throughout the building,鈥� said Mapson, adding that mold is starting to form in all sorts of areas.

鈥淓very residence in the building will be vacated.鈥�

Knowing that the fate of the building is up in the air, finding temporary housing for the residents of the condo has emerged as a major concern. There were hundreds of emails following a call for help in the days after the fire. It was overwhelming to Mapson and a relative of one of the residents has connected them to a tech company鈥擧appipad鈥攖hat focuses on connecting long-term renters with developers and property managers. On Monday, a meeting has been organized to further make connections.

Over and over again, it鈥檚 community that has helped him get through the last week.

When there鈥檚 time, he also feels anger, which so many others affected by this fire have expressed.

Mapson has questions about why the building next door went up like a candle, why flames spread so fast and why firefighting efforts were seemingly hampered鈥攕omething he鈥檚 heard echoed by official sources.

More resources were needed at the beginning of the blaze, which destroyed a building and displaced locals last weekend, said 91大黄鸭 Professional Fire Fighters Association president Mike Hill.

The City of 91大黄鸭 has 19 firefighters on duty at any given time, but the National Fire Protection Association standards say between 27 to 29 firefighters are required to fight a blaze the size of the building that was engulfed Saturday, said Hill.

鈥淭his was a large event and this is the kind of event we train and prepare for. The more assets we have on a big fire, the better,鈥� said Hill. 鈥淏ut the strategic plan really looks at the bigger picture of what the community needs.鈥�

Mapson also doubts the decision-making of city council granting the developer a variance on the distance between buildings.

A greater setback to the property line, he said, may have helped all involved.

That will be made clear in the days ahead, though.

For now he鈥檚 focusing on moving forward so he and the residents of the building鈥攁 family of sorts鈥攃an get back to enjoying their lives.