All residents were safely evacuated but several units were extensively damaged, Prince George Fire Rescue said, after a fire ripped through the Latitude apartment building at 3271 Westwood Dr. early Wednesday morning.
The blaze broke out shortly before 4:15 a.m. and 20 firefighters from four halls arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from the building's southeast corner. By the morning rush hour, the blaze was extinguished while crews remained on the scene to look out for hot spots.
Fire investigators were also called to the scene. The fire's cause remained to be determined and there was no estimate of the dollar loss as of late Wednesday morning.
Personnel from the Red Cross and the Salvation Army had set up an emergency shelter in the gymnasium at the John McInnis Learning Centre, directly across the street.
By midmorning, resident Donna Lee, 51, was wrapped in Red Cross blankets and sitting in a lawn chair looking back from across the street at the building where firefighters were still on the scene.
She said the fire broke out in a second-floor unit across the hall from hers.
"The fire alarm went off, I thought it was a joke, I was going to stay in bed," Lee said.
"Somebody banged on the door and said 'my balcony's on fire,' so I got up, I got dressed and got my things and my grandson and I got out."
Lee, who lived in the building for three years, does not have content insurance and has not been able to work as a taxi driver since early December because of medical troubles. But she maintained a positive frame of mind, saying she's just glad no one was injured or killed.
"We didn't have a hurricane, we didn't have a tornado, we didn't have a tsunami or nothing like that," Lee said. "As long as everybody's safe, that's all that matters."
As she walked out of John McInnis, Roxanne Evans, 58, could see the gutted and charred remains of what used to be her and her husband's two-bedroom apartment on the top floor of the four-storey complex, directly above where the fire broke out.
They have contents insurance but that won't help replace the family photos and memorabilia lost in the fire. Because of the numerous false alarms in the past, Evans did not take it seriously when the bell rang this time.
"All I grabbed was my purse. My car keys and all my pills and my safety deposit box and everything is in there," said Evans, whose husband was away in Fort St. John at the time. "And you couldn't go back in."
The building was just five years old and the last place Evans thought a fire would break out.
"This was the nicest one in Prince George, pretty much," she said.
Grant and Jean Yule, 86 and 81 years old respectively, lived on the other side of the building but remain concerned they will have to look for a new home. They have contents insurance and emergency services will pay for three nights in a motel.
As well, a firefighter was able to go back into their suite and rescue some family photos.
They said the response among the tenants was "absolute bedlam" with plenty of screaming and carrying on once they were out of the building.
"When you live in an apartment, you need to do a fire drill," Jean said.
The Salvation Army's mobile kitchen was up and running at John McInnis and had served breakfast for about 80 people, Cpt. Neil Wilkinson said, made up of both tenants and emergency responders, and was getting ready to serve about 40 for lunch. As well, he said the Army's thrift store was opened to victims, some of whom left the building in little more than pajamas and house coats and were in need of clothing. The St. Michael's Anglican Church thrift store was also handing out clothing.
Lee praised the response from emergency personnel.
"Absolutely amazing," she said. "The firefighters and the police were here ASAP, Salvation Army was here, the Red Cross, they've been just totally amazing."
It was the second time in two weeks that a fire has struck a Prince George apartment building. Those behind the Facebook page Friends of Fire Folks, set up to help with those forced out of their homes on Central near 10th Avenue by an April 18 fire, have also committed to help those affected in the Westwood blaze.
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