Man dies in Victoria apartment fire
A man is dead after an apartment fire Monday morning in the James Bay neighbourhood of Victoria.
The Victoria Fire Department received several 911 calls about the fire in a top-floor unit of the Village Green Apartments at 118 Menzies Street.
A tenant living below the unit that caught fire says she was jolted awake by a loud noise, heard yelling and ran from her suite around 8 a.m.
"I heard a bad, bad, bad noise," says Sofia Boulede. "I’m afraid because I don’t know what’s happened."
Victoria police say detectives with the major crime unit are investigating, however the fire is not believed to be criminal.
"We’re treating the [cause of the] fire as unknown at this time," said acting fire chief Dan Atkinson.
The building sustained significant damage but no other injuries were reported, police said.
THOUGHT IT WAS A TEST
Two tenants tell CTV News the apartment complex was supposed to have a fire alarm test Monday, and initially the residents thought they could ignore the alarms when they started to sound.
"I went back to sleep and then all of a sudden somebody is banging on the door and telling us to get out," says resident Cheryl Rinehert.
A mother named Danyelle had a similar reaction, but her daughter saw the smoke and flames outside.
"I ran outside and it was literally bellowing from the apartment," she says. "I couldn’t believe it. I thought, 'Those are our neighbours and people’s homes just gone in an instant.'"
Atkinson said six to eight units were likely damaged in the blaze and ensuing response.
"Given the fire load and the amount of water required to put the fire out, I would suspect the water and smoke damage will extend into multiple suites," the acting fire chief said.
Boulede and her husband are temporary residents from Morocco who’ve been living at the complex since the start of the year.
She says she’s most worried about the survival of the government documents supporting their residency.
Many people in the neighbourhood stopped to watch firefighters work, expressing their concern.
Firefighters were seen entering the building with axes and a chainsaw. Later, firefighters were cutting through the building’s roof with the saw.
"It’s kind of scary because so many families live in that complex," says community member Jim Hill.
Another tenant of the Village Green Apartments says she was terrified.
"I’m in the building right next door," she said. "It’s really windy today so I wasn’t sure if it was going to spread over to our building."
Atkinson says the fire had been burning for a while before crews were alerted to the scene – and that a lot of stuff inside the unit of origin made the fight to suppress the flames challenging.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.