Around 100 residents of a retirement home in Mission, B.C., are displaced after a fire engulfed the building on Monday night.
One of those residents took shelter in a stairwell as the fire raged around her and she was found by firefighters two hours after the rescue operation began.
Mission Fire Chief Mark Goddard said the woman is more than 100 years old, but she’s “doing fine.”
Dozens of residents were forced onto the streets after their home erupted in flames and smoke around 6 p.m.
Columns of fire and smoke could be seen billowing out of the Chartwell Carrington House on the south side of 7th Avenue, with the fire appearing to come from the third floor of the multi-unit complex.
First responders rushed into the building and assisted the elderly residents out as flames spread quickly, RCMP said in a release.
No serious injuries or fatalities were reported.
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Goddard said on Tuesday that 16 residents were transported to the hospital. Ten went to Mission Memorial and six went to Abbotsford’s hospital with smoke inhalation and minor injuries.
“The fire operation was probably one of the most hazardous that Mission Fire Rescue has ever undertaken,” Goddard said.
“We’re literally evacuating people on the third floor while A/C units were falling through the ceiling behind our crew.”
All evacuees who had been at the Mission Leisure Centre have since been picked up by family members or relocated to nearby Chartwell residences and local hotels.
In a statement, Mary Perrone-Lisi, senior director, communications and public relations for CHARTwell confirmed those details.
“Our focus remains on the safety and wellbeing of our residents, as our teams continue to support residents and their families during this time,” Perrone-Lisi said.
“We are deeply grateful for the swift response of emergency services and for the outpouring of support from the community.”
Any urgent enquiries related to those impacted by the fire at Chartwell Carrington House can be directed to CarringtonHouse@chartwell.com or to one of their staff members at 604-826-4747.
The City of Mission confirmed no assistance or donations are requested at this time.
There is no word yet on how the fire started.
Goddard said the fire moved so quickly once it reached the attic, which did not have, nor is required to have, sprinklers.
“The sprinklers were functioning and the building had recently been inspected by our inspectors,” he added.
Goddard added that there were fire-stopping products in the attic.
I believe the Chartwell staff and the First responders should be given a lot of credit for being able to evacuate everyone from the building with no loss of life.
.. about this fire 🔥 ,, how did it start and don’t they have Fire alarm and Fire extinguishers to Quickly put it out ?? Something seems Strange here …and plus Fire 🔥 department should be able to put it out before it does alot of damage ..then just repair the Building …