A Maple Ridge senior is still pleading to get her teeth and a few other personal effects out of a local hotel that caught fire a week ago.
Annie and her sister Sandra were among seven occupants in the Art Infiniti, a hotel in the 21700-block of Lougheed Highway that went up in flames on New Year’s Eve.
The 69-year-old and her sister, 65, are now staying at a hotel across the street from the closed off structure that was the site of last week’s blaze.
“We can’t get our belongings out of our room… We are paying almost $300 every two days to live here,” Annie told The News.
“We have nothing.”
READ MORE: Guests evacuated after fire at Art Infiniti Hotel in Maple Ridge
Prior to last week’s fire, the pair had been temporarily living at the Art Infiniti Hotel, at 21735 Lougheed Hwy., since Nov. 18.
They moved there after they were given notice by their previous landlord to vacate their Maple Ridge home of 22 years.
“We had nowhere else to go,” Annie said about deciding to move into the hotel in November. “We couldn’t find any rentals.”
Now, they’ve lost their temporary home, too.
It was around 4 a.m. on Dec. 31 when someone started banging on the door to Annie’s room at the Art Infiniti – alerting them of a fire, she recalled.
“I just grabbed my dog and told my sister ‘Let’s go’,” she said.
Annie said she’s not sure where the other five occupants relocated.
But the pair has since been staying at a hotel nearby with the hope of regaining access to the fire-inflicted site to gather their belongings.
Maple Ridge fire chief Howard Exner confirmed the site is in the care of the owners or its representatives, and he does not have the authority to permit anyone into the building.
“The fire department did not supply any support for the people who were staying at the hotel. My understanding is that the hotel management took care of the people who were staying there,” he said.
READ MORE: Body removed from Maple Ridge hotel after large police presence
The News has made multiple attempts to connect with the hotel owner.
Meanwhile, Annie said she and her sister have paid $2,200 in rent money for the month of January to the Art Infiniti Hotel and she, too, is waiting to connect with the owner, who apparently said there would be a refund.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
@JotiGrewal_
joti.grewal@blackpress.ca
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