Fire forces evacuation of 5-storey London, Ont. apartment building

Damage is estimated at $25,000 after London firefighters battled a blaze in a five-storey apartment building Sunday morning.

The fire at 405 Sugarcreek Tr., between Proudfoot Lane and Riverside Drive, broke out shortly after 7:15 a.m.

Multiple engines and more than 20 firefighters rushed to the scene.

“Upon arrival, there was visible smoke and flame coming from a balcony,” said District Chief Nick Heweston at the scene. “Our crews make a quick ascent to the fifth floor. The occupant was out of the apartment.”

With alarms sounding throughout the building, all occupants were evacuated from their residences and sheltered nearby.

A fifth-floor balcony at 405 Sugarcreek Trail in London, Ont. shows damage from a fire on the morning of Feb. 25, 2024. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

Firefighters then worked to contain the blaze to a fifth-floor balcony, and the blaze was under control within 15 minutes.

Most residents were allowed back inside their units about 90 minutes later.

By 8 a.m., the outside of the apartment unit was visibly scarred and blackened.

A cause is undetermined, and Heweston added the fire is not suspicious in nature. 

District Fire Chief Nick Heweston is seen at the scene of a fire on Sugarcreek Trail on Feb. 25, 2024. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)