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
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors combine a pig kidney transplant and a heart device in a bid to extend woman's life
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.