Fire at Base Line Road seniors apartment building sends 1 to hospital

One person was taken to hospital for burns to their hands and arms following a fire on Sunday at a public housing high-rise in the city’s southwest, fire officials said.

Crews responded to the scene at 30 Base Line Road West around 9 p.m. Upon arrival, firefighters could see smoke and flames coming from a unit on the fourth floor facing Base Line Road.

The 10-floor building is run by London and Middlesex Housing Corporation (LMHC) and has 151 apartments for seniors and older adults over 55 in need of subsidized rent, according to the LMHC website.

The occupants of the unit made it out of the apartment before fire crews arrived. They were taken to hospital by Middlesex-London EMS. No other information has been released, and their current condition is not known. No other injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire remains unknown. Fire officials say the blaze was initially called in as a kitchen fire but upon examination, found the fire was mostly in the living room.

Damage of the fire is pegged at approximately $90,000, and the Ontario Fire Marshal is scheduled to attend the scene on Monday.

Units directly below the fire, on the third, second, and first floors, suffered water damage due to a leak in the line’s hookup to a building standpipe, a fire official said. Tenants in those units were relocated within the building.

Sunday’s fire comes nearly seven months after a fire at a different LMHC seniors-only apartment complex sent three to hospital, one in critical condition. Arson charges were laid against a 65-year-old man in connection with the March 12 blaze at 85 Walnut Street.