‘Homeless for Christmas’: Fire could displace housing complex residents for ‘months’
A fire that started in a second story apartment of a Bruce County community housing complex in Walkerton, could leave residents without a home for several months.
Early Thursday afternoon, Walkerton fire crews arrived to find flames shooting out of a second storey apartment at a housing complex on John Street in Walkerton.
“When I stepped out into the parking lot, that fire was big,” says Allen, one of complex’s residents.
Allen got out okay, but many second floor residents had be rescued by the fire department.
“We did several rescues from second floor balconies. The second storey was filled with smoke, so residents couldn’t evacuate through the main entrance,” says Walkerton Fire Chief, Chris Wells.
One person was treated for smoke inhalation, but no else was injured.
Fire damage was contained to the one apartment, but there is heavy smoke damage on the entire second floor, which means residents may not be getting back into their apartments anytime soon.
“We had a similar fire at a senior’s home in April, and those people were out for up to six months,” says Bruce County Warden, Chris Peabody.
About 20 displaced residents were immediately evacuated to Walkerton’s Arena, and will be put in local hotels Thursday, and possibly longer.
Frustrating for complex residents like Allen, who can’t yet get back in the building to fetch his medication.
“I guess we’re homeless. Homeless for Christmas 2022,” says Allen.
This fire follows a series of blazes involving Bruce County’s most vulnerable in the past 12 months.
“The Hillside Motel. The Forum in Hanover. This building, in the summer, had an arson where three cars were burnt. So, yes, an awful lot of fires,” says Peabody.
Although most of the housing complex residents, likely won’t be home for Christmas, Fire Chief Wells, says smoke alarms stopped this fire from being a lot worse.
“That’s really the reason nobody’s injured, is because people had that early warning, to get out of the building,” says Wells.
The investigation into what sparked the fire is still underway.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
B.C.'s short-term rental regulations include $10K daily penalties for Airbnb, other platforms
Short-term rental platforms that violate B.C.'s pending regulations can face administrative penalties of up to $10,000 per day, officials announced Thursday.
Closing arguments heard in trial for Sask. dad accused of abducting daughter
Closing arguments were heard Thursday morning in the case of Michael Gordon Jackson, the Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter in 2021 to keep her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.