A man rescued from his balcony after fire broke out in an apartment building in downtown Victoria Friday is in critical condition, according to officials.
Police shut down the intersection of Quadra and View, as well as View between Vancouver and Quadra streets, after firefighters were called to the blaze at View Towers before noon.
Firefighters were seen rescuing a man from his balcony with a ladder truck. Paramedics transported the man to hospital where he was said to be in critical condition, Victoria Fire later confirmed.
Heavy smoke was briefly seen billowing out of the apartment before crews knocked down the blaze.
Victoria Police officeres helped firefighters evacuate the building.
Dan Atkinson, acting fire chief of Victoria Fire told CHEK News at the department is working to figure out how many residents will be displaced due to the fire.
Tobias Jones, a resident of View Towers, said he was just getting back home when the fire broke out on the 10th floor.
“That fire was right next door to my apartment,” he said. “If I lost my artwork in there, I lost my artwork. I’ve collected a lot of native artwork over the last few years.”
Another resident said they were sleeping in their 18th floor unit when the fire alarm went off.
“This time I guess it was real. I started smelling smoke, looked out my door, I could even see some smoke in the hallway,” he said. “Right now there’s gonna be a lot of water damage and a lot of smoke damage.”
Victoria Fire Department confirmed at around 12:45 that the fire was under control.
This is a developing story. More to come…
Apartment fire near my house in one of the taller apartment buildings. The fire dept had to rescue a man off a balcony, he was covered in soot and put in an ambulance. #yyj pic.twitter.com/C4vstk7m3h
— 🦇Kate🕸️ (@SomethingDutch) April 29, 2022
View Towers on fire. Stay away from the area! #yyj pic.twitter.com/LxM43Pqbdr
— gabe (@smgab) April 29, 2022
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