Fire crews from Nanaimo Fire Rescue station three were part of the response to a small outdoor fire near a newly built rental home on Feb. 20 around 10 p.m.  (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Nathan Maley

Structure fire

Man injured in fire at Nanaimo apartment building

Feb 21, 2024 | 1:25 PM

NANAIMO — One man was injured, while residents of a newly completed north Nanaimo rental building evacuated in response to a late-night fire.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue (NFR) responded to 6010 Hammond Bay Rd. near Brickyard Rd. on Tuesday, Feb 20, just before 9 p.m. to reports of a possible structure fire.

Assistant fire chief Troy Libbus said one person was treated for injuries.

“We did have one gentleman in a wheelchair have some burns on his face due to the oxygen mask he had on, don’t know the extent but he did go to NRGH for treatment.”

A small section of the building’s exterior was damaged, while Libbus said the fire’s cause is under investigation.

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Residents were already evacuated when crews arrived, he noted.

“The building occupants did evacuate the building as per fire protocol, which is very helpful for the fire service, and the alarms were going off so everything was working to everyone’s favour.”

The 53-units at the new resident building, operated by the Ballenas Housing Society, opened in December of 2023 and has yet to reach full capacity, speeding up the evacuation process

Libbus stressed the importance of people evacuating buildings when the alarm sounds even if there is no sign of fire in their immediate area.

“There is a fire plan in most apartment buildings that we can have access to locate people, but people that can get out should be getting out.”

– with files from Jordan Davidson

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