The Salvation Army’s New Hope Centre in downtown Nanaimo is back to business as usual after a broken water line forced the building’s residents to evacuate and shut down meal services Friday.
Rob Anderson, director of Nanaimo ministries, said residents that had been temporarily moved to the Salvation Army church gymnasium on Eighth Street early Friday morning, returned to the building by 3 p.m.
The kitchen and meals program at 19 Nicol St. went into operation again Monday.
“What we did on Monday, as an appreciation for the community understanding over the weekend, we offered free meals,” Anderson said. “We’re up and running, business as usual.”
The extent of damage to the building caused the broken main is still being ascertained. The concrete floor in the main foyer was broken up with a jackhammer to find the break in the line and will have to be replaced.
The cause of Friday’s leak, as well as a water main break which happened at a different location under the building in June 2010, is under investigation, said Anderson.
“That’s what’s being investigated – to find the reason, so that we can take appropriate action to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.
