Fire officials say they're close to determining the cause of a fire that broke out in a Saanich apartment building last week, with one woman found dead in the aftermath.
Flames tore through the complex in the 2600-block of Richmond Avenue early Friday morning, trapping some residents on their balconies.
Several people were rescued, but a woman in her 60s was found unresponsive in a fourth-floor hallway and later pronounced dead. Investigators have not confirmed how she died.
Two others were taken to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.
The fire was eventually extinguished but left 31 units uninhabitable.
Fifty-four units can be lived in again, and fire officials and Emergency Social Services held a meeting Saturday to take about next steps for displaced residents.
All apartments except for four or five have been released back to their owners, said Saanich Asst. Deputy Fire Chief Brock Henson. Those units are too damaged to allow anyone back inside.
For the 54 suites left uninhabitable, owners are now able to grant access to insurance inspectors and begin remediation efforts.
Eighteen people without insurance were put up in hotels by Emergency Social Services, Saanich Fire said.
