Paramedics say 10 children and three adults were sent to hospital following a residential fire on Hamilton Mountain Friday night.
Hamilton Fire says the blaze started sometime around 6 p.m. on Garden Crescent near Upper Wentworth Street and Franklin Road.
The blaze was centered around a garage and the front door of a two-storey, single-family house, according to fire chief Dave Cunliffe.
“People who had self-evacuated the house advised that there was possibly one child still inside,” Cunliffe said in a report on Friday night.
“Firefighters immediately entered the home to initiate combined search and rescue and firefighting operations.”
Cunliffe said the child was located quickly, transferred to paramedics and sent to a trauma centre.
“In addition to the child rescued, there were two adults and 10 children in the house at the time of the fire,” he added.
Hamilton Paramedics say the children ranged in age from two to 17 and were sent to hospital, along with the two-year-old rescued from the home.
All were transported for assessment related to smoke inhalation.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries, was treated and later released from hospital, Cunliffe said.
Damage to the home is estimated between $450,000 and $500,000.
The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office has been notified and is assisting with an investigation.