2 elevators in Osborne Village apartment building inoperable after power outage caused by squirrel

Residents of a Winnipeg highrise have been told it could take up to five business days for both its elevators to be repaired in the aftermath of a power outage on Thursday.

Daniel Ancelin is one of approximately 180 residents at 64 Nassau St. N in Osborne Village. Ancelin says he’s fortunate that he’s healthy enough to walk up and down the stairs to escape the building, albeit from the top of the 16-floor building.

“It's still hard to do. I’ve really got to take my breath after 10 steps … but I mean, I can do it,” he said Sunday. “There's a lot of people here that just can't and they're stuck in their places.”

The 127-unit building’s residents are all over the age of 55, and frustration is mounting, Ancelin says.

“There's a lot of people that are very frustrated. I know a couple of friends that have said they're going to move out of here because this is the fourth time we've had the power failure — not in the elevators necessarily — but the power failure around Osborne,” he said.

“It's been crazy.”

Building manager January Melillo, who is also the project manager for Murdoch Management, told CBC that Thursday’s outage was the third in about the past month.

Power was restored around 12:30 p.m. Thursday after being out for about two hours, and affecting an estimated 1,900 customers, Manitoba Hydro said in a tweet on X.

The Crown Corporation revealed on the same social media platform that a squirrel caused the outage.

But when the power came back on, the elevators failed to re-engage.

An elevator maintenance crew was called in to assess the situation, and Melillo was told that the elevator had parts that were no longer operable.

The inoperable parts were immediately sent out of province to be repaired. Replacement parts were also quickly ordered from outside Manitoba. Melillo says she called every elevator company in the province, but none had the matching specifications needed for the out-of-commission elevators.

Hydro spokesperson Peter Chura confirmed the power outage but says he won't speculate on what caused the damage to the elevator. There is a process for customers with concerns about damage to make a claim on the utility's website.

Some residents confined to suites

She says the temporary loss of the elevators has had a “tremendous” impact on residents — from postponement of surgeries to events having to be rescheduled, and dozens of residents confined to their suites or floor.

“The physical walking up and down the stairs is very hard on the residents and some of them, I guess more fitter ones, were coming up and down, and bringing groceries and food to their neighbors.”

Melillo also said medications after being dropped off to residents multiple times a day.

“We're certainly aware that it's not ideal to not have the two elevators, but we also know that some people are able to remain in their suites for a couple of days,” she said.

“That's not really going to be a dire situation for them as long as we can get them what they need in terms of medication and food and just having someone to reach out to.”

A few people have temporarily left the building to stay with family members, Melillo confirmed.

She adds that Murdoch Management has been in constant communication with residents, including leaving a two-page notice with all residents about the situation on Friday.

“The residents are a very close-knit group, you know, very determined and helping one another. They're checking in on each other,” Melillo said.

Ancelin isn’t sure there’s much to do for residents who are physically unable to take the stairs to get out and about, until elevator service resumes.

“Staying in their place, watching TV … I’m not sure much more,” he said.

“It’s difficult for them, let’s face it.”