Firefighters were able to quickly handle an oven fire at a Nanaimo apartment building complex on Friday, Nov. 29. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

light damage

Unattended self-cleaning oven responsible for Nanaimo apartment fire

Nov 29, 2024 | 2:50 PM

NANAIMO — An oven, believed to be self-cleaning, is believed to be the source of a fire at a Barons Rd. apartment complex.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue crews were called to an apartment building in the 3100 block of Barons Rd. just before 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 29 after smoke was seen coming from a fourth floor apartment suite.

Capt. Colin Fergusson told NanaimoNewsNOW on scene the owner was not home at the time.

“They were either cleaning their oven or cooking something in their oven, and they’d left the premises and it appeared to start an oven fire. There was visible flames, unfortunately the oven door was locked…the guys managed to force the door after disconnecting power to the oven.”

Fergusson said the fire flared up once the oven door was opened, leading firefighters to douse it with water and extinguish it.

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He added the suite sustained some damage.

“There’s a little bit of water damage just from attempting to extinguish it, but it appears it’s minimal water damage though. There was some smoke damage, we ventilated all the floors and ensured everyone was out of their suites and evacuated safely.”

Two tenants lived inside the affected suite, Fergusson expects them to be displaced for at least a couple of days.

He said most other units escaped any damage.

“What we’re just trying to determine at the moment is the suite below it, we’re just currently trying to locate the tenant so we can gain access without causing damage, to determine if there’s any water damage to the suite below.”

No injuries were reported.

Most residents were allowed back in their units following a temporary evacuation, while traffic was also disrupted.

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