Man taken to hospital after Courtenay motel fire destroys supportive housing units
An early morning fire Tuesday has destroyed a portion of a motel in Courtenay, B.C., used for supportive housing.
Crews were called to the Travelodge Motel shortly after 3 a.m. and found fire coming out of two upper-floor units when they arrived.
“Within two minutes it was all gone, the roof, everything was just flames,” says Amber Hiltz, a tenant at the motel.
Hiltz says people living in the motel were alerted to the fire by one of the occupants just prior to the fire alarm being activated.
“There was a gentleman out on the deck upstairs and he was screaming that there was a fire and my friend jumped on the phone in my room and called 911 and the office to get them coming,” Hiltz says.
She says the fire appears to have originated in a chair in one of the units.
“The guy said he was in the bathroom and he came out from peeing and the chair was on fire and it went from just a tiny little dot,” she says. “It was up within four minutes. It was totally engulfed all the way around.”
She says someone attempted to use a fire extinguisher on the blaze before fire crews arrived.
Courtenay Fire Chief Kurt MacDonald says significant resources attended the blaze.
“We’ve got BC Ambulance, RCMP, Emergency Support Services and the Comox Fire Department here with mutual aid to help us out with the fire,” he says.
One man was pulled from a unit next to the active fire and was rushed to hospital with undetermined injuries.
“Did not appear to be (burned), appeared to be more shook up than anything but he is in the care of BC Ambulance Service,” MacDonald says.
A further investigation is expected to take place later Tuesday to determine the cause of the fire.
“No idea as to how it started, it will be quite some time before our investigators will be on scene,” MacDonald says. “We’re still in the process of overhauling the fire and trying to make sure it hasn’t spread to any of the other units.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
ArriveCan contractor to be admonished by MPs in extraordinarily rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.