At least a dozen people are being housed elsewhere tonight after fire ripped through a section of the Briarwood apartment complex at 1253 Johnson St. late Saturday afternoon.
The fire started in one of the townhouse suites but affected six units, leaving the complex operator, Pacifica Housing, to scramble to find temporary lodging for five families, according to Pacifica executive director Dean Fortin.
B次元官网网址�(There is) 12 to 14 people in all who wonB次元官网网址檛 be able to come back in immediately, some for a long time,B次元官网网址� he said, adding that luckily no residents were hurt as a result of the fire. One firefighter sustained a hand injury and was sent to hopsital for treatment.
The unit where the fire began was empty at the time. It and one next door suffered major water damage, while four other adjacent units were affected by smoke and or water. Pacifica was working with the fire department to look at the extent of the damage and determine next steps.
Given that the building is right beside the rear of Victoria Fire DepartmentB次元官网网址檚 No. 1 fire hall, crews were able to arrive on scene very quickly after the 911 call came in shortly after 4 p.m. The exact cause was still under investigation at the time of this writing.
With hotels in the high season, the immediate challenge was to find accommodation for the next three days, a task taken on by the cityB次元官网网址檚 emergency management department. B次元官网网址淏ut itB次元官网网址檚 one of those things where everybody seems to kick in and do what they can to make it happen,B次元官网网址� Fortin said.
In terms of relocating people, doing so within the Pacifica network of homes will be difficult, but finding spaces for them somewhere in the region will be made a priority, he said.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 desperate and dire out there, it really is. At Pacifica Housing we have a 0.02 vacancy rate; we have four units that come vacant once a month for 1,500 units that we have.B次元官网网址�
Fortin noted that they may well call on one of the other subsidized housing providers in the region to help out. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a great camaraderie with all the other service providers B次元官网网址� everybody does what they can to help the families out,B次元官网网址� he said.
Fires that cause displacement of tenants in Pacifica Housing units are B次元官网网址渧ery rare,B次元官网网址� Fortin said. The fire caused an estimated $300,000 damage to the building, which like the rest of the complex just had a new roof installed.
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