VICTORIA -- British Columbia's police watchdog is investigating after one person went to hospital following an apartment fire in Victoria on Christmas Day.
Victoria police said in a statement that officers responded around 6 p.m. on Wednesday to reports of an armed person causing a disturbance in a multi-unit residential building on Pandora Avenue downtown.
Police said the person had barricaded himself or herself in the suite and a tactical emergency response team was called.
As the team was deploying, officers saw smoke coming from the suite and called the fire department, police said.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze while tactical officers moved in, and the suspect was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to police.
Victoria police said they had notified the Independent Investigations Office, which investigates any incident in which police actions or inactions may have caused harm or death, of the incident.
The IIO confirmed in its own release that it has begun an investigation.
With files from The Canadian Press
