Over two dozen people have been forced out of their homes and two people were sent to hospital after a serious fire ripped through a second floor unit of an apartment building across from Fanshawe College.
The first 911 call came in at 11:17 a.m. Monday of a fire at 1451 Oxford St. East, at the corner of Ayreswood Avenue. When fire crews arrived at the scene, flames could be seen shooting out of a rear unit on the second storey.
Fire crews rescued two people from the building as they worked to douse the flames. One person was in a third floor unit at the front of the building facing Oxford St. East. Fire fighters broke the window and retrieved the patient, bringing them to waiting Middlesex-London EMS crews. The second person was found on the second floor near the rear of the apartment building and had to be carried out. The second patient also received care from EMS.
Paramedics then transported both patients to hospital for further care.
Deputy Fire Chief David Lazenby told reporters at the scene that the two individuals had suffered smoke inhalation and their current conditions weren’t known.
The building is an assisted living apartment complex where tenants live independently. Those residents were originally taken to Carling Heights Community Centre, but Managing Director of Parks and Recreation Bill Coxhead tells AM980 they’ve since been relocated to the Salvation Army’s Centre of Hope.
“It became apparent that the needs of the individuals and what was required to support them could be better managed if we took them to the Centre of Hope and support them through the needs there,” Coxhead says.
“Food and shelter as well as clothing and any other health and wellness support, were going to be more easily provided there. We’ve got a team over there at the Salvation Army’s Centre of Hope to support them.”
It’s not known when or if the residents be allowed to return to the building so the city is assisting them in finding a place to stay, be that with friends or family, or at the Centre of Hope. As not all residents were home at the time of the blaze, Coxhead says they also have staff on site at the apartment building to notify any returning tenants who weren’t aware of the fire.
Late Monday afternoon, fire officials released more information about the blaze saying it caused $150,000 in damage. The heat and smoke caused by the flames had caused extensive damage to the second floor while the entire building was impacted by the smoke.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation at this time.
Source: Fire Near Fanshawe College Seriously Injures Two People, Displaces 29 | (CFPL AM) AM 980
