An overnight watermain break sent an Etobicoke family scrambling for safety after water came rushing into their basement apartment.
The family said they were sleeping in their home at 311 Dixon, near Kipling Avenue, when they heard what they thought was rain coming through a window.
When they turned on a light, they saw water accumulating quickly in their unit.
“The doors were jammed from the water. We couldn’t get out through the doors so we had to think quick, think smart,” Romaine Powell said.
“In less than three minutes, the water was way above our waistlines.”
The watermain broke at around 2 a.m. in the parking lot. Within a matter of an hour, water had streamed from the lot to a staircase leading to the lower level of the building. The pressure of the water was eventually too much for a door, which gave way and sent the deluge flowing through the family’s unit.
The family of four, including a pair of five-year-old twins, had no other choice but to climb through a window.
Powell said he lifted the two girls through the window first and the rest of the family followed.
“It was so horrific for them,” Powell said. “It was terrible. They kept crying, screaming.”
Firefighters arrived to find about three feet of water in the basement and flooding in the parking garage.
“The main concern was that they couldn’t access one of the units at the end of the hallway. The water was deeper in that unit,” Toronto Fire District Chief Vern Hiller said.
“They (the firefighters) weren’t sure if residents were still inside or not. Luckily they had already gotten out. They found them in the lobby.”
Hiller said firefighters were able to locate the electrical unit on the main level of the building. They determined there was no risk of the water impacting hydro, so power was not cut, but water and elevators have been shut off until further notice.
Firefighters have been able to drain the basement of most of the water but the clean-up will likely last throughout the day.
It’s not yet known what caused the watermain break, nor how much damage the building sustained.
The family, however, believes they lost everything.
“All of our belongings, everything is inside,” Monique Gilbert said. “Documents… Everything.”
