Hamilton firefighters had to use ladders to rescue YMCA residents from dangerous fire – bayobserver.ca Hamilton, Burlington and GTA

A fire Monday afternoon at the YMCA downtown turned out to be more serious than first thought. The fire broke out in a third-floor apartment, but smoke quickly enveloped the 3^rd floor and two floors above. Upon entering the building, firefighters reported that there were many people inside who needed to be rescued. There were also multiple residents hanging out of windows on multiple floors who also needed to be rescued. Aerial platforms were used to rescue residents from windows. A total of 24 residents were rescued/assisted from the building, 19 residents were rescued by firefighters conducting search and rescue operations in the building, and 5 residents were rescued from windows by firefighters using aerial platforms. A total of 11 residents were transported by Hamilton Paramedics to various hospitals in Hamilton. 2 people are hospitalized and in intensive care. The fire was contained to the 3rd floor unit, but not before it sustained significant fire damage. Smoke was drawn to all floors, with significant smoke damage on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors. At the height of the incident, there were 23 large and small fire engines, equating to over 65 Hamilton Fire Department personnel on scene. The fire department will be conducting an investigation and the damage is estimated at approximately $1 million.

Fire and emergency personnel are working with YMCA staff to develop a temporary shelter plan for the 173 residents who were registered in the YMCA rooms at the time of the fire. Arrangements have been made for both the primary and secondary gyms on the YMCA site to be used as emergency shelters. Emergency personnel have made arrangements with the Red Cross, who are now on site to assist the YMCA.