- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

When the news is full of pictures of a smouldering tower, it is hard for anyone living in an apartment not to give thought to the safety of their own building. And when the fingers started pointing at British government departments and politicians with accusations of putting lives at risk to save money, those who live in public housing anywhere get nervous.

One local resident of a Grey County Housing apartment expressed her unease on social media, and OwenSoundHub.org set out to find the facts for her and her neighbours.
We all contribute to the tax base that provides for affordable housing in Grey County, and everyone expects those tax dollars to be used wisely. We also want the people who need Grey County Housing to live in comfort and dignity, and no one wants to see safety compromised for cost savings. 

Here are the details of the particular project about which the tenant was asking - Parkway Apartments, a 186-unit apartment building in Owen Sound. The building needed new insulated cladding.

• A tender was awarded to Danval Construction Company in 2016. Report Tender The project was scheduled to be completed over two years (2016-2017).
• The cladding is made of fire-rated metal wall panels and insulation is 2.0 Rockwool (page 19 of tender).
• Fire prevention and safety at Parkway Apartments goes above and beyond what is required by legislation - Smoke detectors are tested twice per year (annual required); Heat detectors that alert the local fire department when a temperature threshold is reached were installed approximately three years ago (not required by law ).
• The Owen Sound Fire Prevention Officer inspects the building regularly.
• Community Relations Workers and other staff are on site regularly to answer questions and help tenants with any issues.

source: Grey County; images by tenant