Dartmouth apartment fire sends one woman to hospital

An apartment fire in Dartmouth on Tuesday afternoon sent one woman to hospital and forced dozens of residents to evacuate the building.

The fire broke out in a second-floor unit at 98 Highfield Park Drive at around 2:30 p.m.

Four fire apparatus, at least two EHS ambulances and several police vehicles attended the scene.

Acting Division Commander Brad Connors of Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency says the fire began in a couch and was contained to the couch.

“The crews made a quick entry into the fire apartment and rescued one victim. That victim was transported to hospital by EHS,” Connors said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The crews made a quick entry into the fire apartment and rescued one victim. That victim was transported to hospital by EHS," Connors said.

“The fire was contained to the couch area. It didn’t get into the structure of the apartment so for us, sort of minor but it was a significant fire and potential for smoke to cause a fatality is still there as well. It’s significant.”

It’s unclear what injuries the woman sustained.

A section of Highfield Park Drive was blocked to traffic for more than an hour. Once crews were able to clear out the smoke that had migrated to the other floors, residents were let back in.

Fire investigators were on scene later in the afternoon to determine the cause of the blaze.