One person has been sent to hospital with unknown injuries following an early morning fire in downtown Barrie.
Barrie Fire and Emergency Services received a call shortly after 7 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23 about a fire at 18 Sophia Street East near the city’s downtown.
“We had five trucks and about 18 firefighters,” confirmed Deputy Fire Chief Derek Wilson, saying fire investigators were on route and the Office of the Fire Marshall had been notified, and were said to also be sending an investigator.
The majority of the residents of the Parkland Court apartments – a two-story apartment complex located just north of the downtown core – had managed to get out safely by the time crews arrived. The fire, he added, was contained to one unit.
“There was a little bit of smoke and that sort of thing into the adjacent units, but the fire itself was contained to the one unit,” he said, adding one person was transported by paramedics to RVH for treatment. “Our crews got her out of the unit and then transferred care to paramedics.”
As of shortly after 9 a.m., some residents had been allowed back into their units. Wilson added the fire department was assisting in arranging housing for those residents who will not be able to return to their apartments today.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
“We are just holding the scene for (investigators) to do their investigation. That hasn’t been done yet,” he said. Wilson didn’t expect that information to be available until later in the day or possibly even Sunday.
