Five people are in critical condition at London Health Sciences Centre after a balcony fire at a London apartment building. “Nine people were transported to hospital, five of them are in critical condition, and four others including an infant were transported with serious but not life-threatening injuries,” said Steve Cook of the Middlesex London Paramedic Service. Multiple tenants have been displaced at the 12-floor building at 241 Simcoe St. which is operated by London and Middlesex Community Housing “Around 6:30 a.m. crews encountered heavy smoke on the fire floor,” said Platoon Chief Colin Shewell of the London Fire Department. “The sixth floor is our prime focus right now with the investigation and that’s where the people will be displaced. Everyone else we’re attempting to get back into their apartment.” First responders were dealing with heavy rain and cold temperatures throughout the morning. “The secondary item we’re very concerned about is the safety of the occupants after the fire,” added Shewell. “We got them out of the cold and onto LTC (London Transit Commission) buses. Working our partners at police, working with our partners at London and Middlesex Housing (LMH) and emergency management as well as Red cross to make sure everyone is looked after in a timely manner”. The London Police Service is investigating and treats all fires as suspicious until determined otherwise. “We are waiting for the fire inspector to let us know their conclusions,” said Inspector Maria Wright of the London Police Service. “There are no fatalities at this time, just people treated for smoke inhalation.” Police and LMH set up a station in the lobby of 241 Simcoe St. to get people inside from the weather conditions and after evacuating there was a lot of tenants needing assistance. The City of London has set up a reception centre at Carling Heights Community Centre (CHCC) to help displaced residents. “We are working to get people the essentials out of their apartment so they can go on with their daily life,” said Shewell. “We are transporting displaced residents over there (CHCC) and hand them over to Red Cross”. Fire Inspectors are expected to be on scene Saturday afternoon and Sunday to determine cause and origin of the fire. There is significant damage to the fire unit and smoke damage throughout the sixth floor.
