A section of Ouellette Avenue was closed near a downtown Windsor apartment building for a fire — the second fire at the building in two days.
Windsor Fire and Rescue Services posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Thursday morning advising of a working fire in the 900 block of Ouellette Avenue, and asked residents to steer clear of the area.
Windsor police also posted that a section of Ouellette Avenue between Erie and Elliott was closed for a "hazmat" incident with emergency personnel on scene.
Mike Coste, chief fire prevention officer with Windsor fire, said an arson team and the Ontario Fire Marshall would be investigating the blaze.
"There was an incident on the 10th floor today and I guess there was an issue with an individual they were trying to remove and they were in the process of removing," Coste said. "The individual lit up his apartment building, allegedly, and that's why the crews are here today."
Coste said there were reportedly some propane tanks in the vicinity, though there were no propane tank explosions. A hazardous material team was brought in as a precaution, Coste said, though the presence of any materials is still to be determined by investigators.
The fire was reported around 11:30 a.m. Buses were brought to the scene to warm between 30 and 40 residents who were evacuated from the building.
Building resident Ray Poisson said he was angry that building residents had been evacuated for the second time in two days.
Coste said the fire had since been extinguished and that there were no injuries reported, though some people were being decontaminated and taken away by ambulance as a precaution.
A fire at 920 Ouellette Avenue, the second in two days, prompted the evacuation of residents on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. (Dale Molnar/CBC)
An individual has been taken into custody, Coste said.
The large presence on scene was due to the complexity of the situation, Coste said, considering the 400-unit building and possible presence of hazardous materials.
On Wednesday, firefighters rescued a person from the 17th floor of the same apartment building. The person was taken to hospital with unknown injuries, but that fire was contained to a single unit.