No heat. No lights. No water.

Roughly 1,000 people living in a 33-storey apartment building in downtown Toronto’s St. James Town have been left in darkened rooms and hallways — with security guard and firefighter escorts — after a burst pipe flooded the electrical room on Tuesday afternoon.

On a frigid night, as residents stood in the darkened lobby, Toronto Mayor John Tory said the residents will be allowed to stay in their apartments overnight, promising the city will meet with the fire department on Wednesday morning to reassess the situation.

The building at 260 Wellesley St. E. is run by WPSQ, the same property management company that operated 650 Parliament St., which is still uninhabitable after a fire last August. WPSQ spokesperson Danny Roth said 26 of 1,500 residents displaced from 650 Parliament were living at 260 Wellesley at the time of Tuesday’s blaze.

In a news conference in front of the building, local Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam said her heart goes out to them. “This would be the second time that they are now facing this type of situation where they are in the dark,” she said. “But I hope that this time we’re able to manage the situation as best we can.”

While many residents were leaving with packed bags, two women arrived with pizza boxes. “A lot of people are going to stay with relatives but we are international students so we have nowhere to go,” said Ruby D’Souza, 25. She said she heard about the electrical outage in the afternoon, but didn’t return until now. “We can’t cook,” she said Tuesday night. “There is nothing we can do.”

Deputy fire chief Jim Jessop said he will be rotating fire crews in and out of the building to check on resident safety and added blankets will be distributed.

The Electrical Safety Authority asked Toronto Hydro to cut power to the building due to a “safety issue,” Toronto Hydro spokesperson Tori Gass in an email. “We don’t have details on the cause or how long it will last.”

Just after 6:30 p.m., Wong-Tam tweeted that electrical repairs would take at least 48 hours but no official evacuation order was issued. City of Toronto spokesperson Brad Ross tweeted that The Wellesley Community Centre is available to shelter residents so they can “stay warm, charge devices, get water and snacks.”

Mayor John Tory told the news conference that the city contacted WPSQ and made it clear “that we expect them to take up their responsibility for the people living in their building.”

Fire services requested that the landlord provide at least 31 security guards to check in with residents who choose to stay in their units.

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Stefanie Marotta is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @StefanieMarotta

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