Firefighters make second-floor rescue in $400K apartment blaze

The London Free Press

One person was hospitalized and 10 people were forced out of their homes after fire did an estimated $400,000 damage to an apartment building southeast of downtown on Thursday evening.

Firefighters rescued at least one person from a second-floor apartment, London Fire Department officials say.

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Fire officials said it was just after 7 p.m. when crews were called to the blaze at 852 Trafalgar St., a three-storey apartment building just south of the Hamilton Road-Rectory Street intersection and located near Pearson school for the arts.

One person was assessed by paramedics and a London Transit bus was called in to shelter residents who were displaced, fire officials said.

By 11 p.m. firefighters had cleared the scene, and the blaze was under investigation. In a Friday morning update, fire officials estimated the cost of the damage at $400,000 and said investigators determined the fire was caused by an accidental electrical incident.

But fire officials also said there were 10 residents who couldn’t return to their homes and will need help from the Red Cross. One person was taken to hospital with “unknown injuries,” fire officials said.

In a statement on social media, fire officials said firefighters rescued “at least one person” from the second floor of the building. They also thanked fire inspectors who worked through the night to determine the cause of the blaze.

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