A fire in the boiler room of an Orillia apartment building forced the evacuation of dozens of tenants Tuesday night.
The fire erupted in the three-storey building at the corner of Westmount Drive North and Homewood Avenue at around 7:30 p.m. Eleven firefighters from the Orillia Fire Department along with four firefighters from Rama First Nation, officers from the Orillia OPP officers and Simcoe County paramedics attended the fire.
"The fire originated at an electric water heater in the boiler room," Orillia Fire Chief Michael Clark told OrilliaMatters.
He said the fire was quickly extinguished by the first responding crew, but the firefighters spent about an hour ventilating the three floors of the brick structure.
"No one was hurt and while the occupants were inconvenienced by the evacuation, they kept their spirits up and endured the cooler temperature with characteristic Orillia hardiness," said Clark.
Crews were able to allow all the residents back into the building by about 8:45 p.m.
One resident posted the following comment on Facebook: "We're all back in our apartments now. A little stinky but the firefighters did an excellent job."