‘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
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.