Residents allowed to return to smelly West Kelowna apartment building

The cause of the strange chemical smell that led to the evacuation of a West Kelowna apartment building on the weekend has not been identified but residents have been given permission to return home.

About 150 people, some with pets, were ordered out of the 60-unit apartment on Sunday morning because of a smell that West Kelowna Fire Rescue Chief Jason Brolund said seemed to move around.

“The building owner has provided a satisfactory assurance from a qualified environmental professional as required under the city bylaw,” Brolund wrote in a news release issued just before 6 p.m. yesterday, April 19.

“The report states that following their investigation and monitoring, the building is safe to occupy. This meets the requirements of the City of West Kelowna Bylaw and assures us the public is safe to return.”

No definite cause has been identified, he wrote in the release.

READ MORE: 150 residents still evacuated due to 'chemical' smell: West Kelowna fire chief


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Rob Munro

Rob Munro has a long history in journalism after starting an underground newspaper in Whitehorse called the Yukon Howl in 1980. He spent five years at the 100 Mile Free Press, starting in the darkroom, moving on to sports and news reporting before becoming the advertising manager. He came to Kelowna in 1989 as a reporter for the Kelowna Daily Courier, and spent the 1990s mostly covering city hall. For most of the past 20 years he worked full time for the union representing newspaper workers throughout B.C. He’s returned to his true love of being a reporter with a special focus on civic politics