All nine residents of a three-story apartment building in Kitchener were evacuated after a fire Saturday night.
The six-unit building was left badly damaged as Kitchener fire crews battled the blaze overnight and into Sunday afternoon, working to extinguish hot spots.
Patrick O’Halloran, assistant platoon chief for the Kitchener Fire Department, put the estimated damage at about $4 million.
“The apartment was fully engulfed in heavy smoke and flames visible on arrival. Crews had to enter the building using a second floor fire escape,” O’Halloran said.
Crews had to open the roof of the building to get the upper hand in putting out the flames.
Fire crews responded to the blaze at the building on the corner of St. George and Benton around 6:30 p.m
The Kitchener Fire Department is fighting a fire at the corner of Benton Street and St. George Street. (Chris Thomson/CTV Kitchener)
The fire caused Waterloo Regional Police to close Queen Street from Courtland Avenue to Church Street. St. George Street was also closed from Benton Street to Cedar Street southbound.
Approximately 10 fire engines, including an Ariel truck, were called to the scene.
“It took them a while to assess the situation — they didn’t start watering until probably about 7:15 — and they’ve been watering it for a while now, but there were people coming into the building almost immediately,” Kitchener resident Dan Cardy said , who lives nearby.
As fire crews battled the blaze, Kitchener Wilmot Hydro reported an outage in the area affecting 1,350 customers.
The outage began at 7:45 p.m
Kitchener Wilmot Hydro reported an outage in the area affecting 1,350 customers. (Kitchener Wilmot Hydro)
On Sunday, July 10, police said power had been restored to the area.
RESIDENTS RESPOND TO FIRE
“People started banging on my doors and telling me to get out, and I was trying to get my cats out,” said Mo Markham, a resident of the building for 11 years. “We’re all going to have to find a place to live at least for a while. I don’t know if the building, if they will be able to rebuild it.”
Markham is also asking people to look after six cats believed to be missing during the fire.
The lead investigator told CTV News the fire is believed to have started on the third floor of a block at the rear of the building.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined but is not believed to be suspicious.
Connor Simpson, a resident of the building who was on his computer when the fire broke out, said he was alerted by the smell of smoke.
“[I] I smelled smoke, looked outside and saw smoke coming through my window, went out to see what the hell was going on outside and everything on the second floor on that side was on fire.”
A PASSERBY RUNS IN TO HELP
Tyler Leatherland was walking past the building when he called, noticed the fire and called 911.
He then ran into the building to offer help to those still inside.
“I noticed that people weren’t coming out of the building, they couldn’t hear the fire alarms, so we decided to go into the building to alert the residents,” Leatherland said.
The Canadian Red Cross was called in to help. They said they are currently supporting three residents, while others are likely being supported by friends and family.
Add Comment