Multiple people are looking for temporary accommodations after a pair of fires near downtown London, Ont. Monday morning.
London Fire were called to 538 Dundas St. just before 8 a.m. where they encountered flames and smoke coming from a second story window.
“When we arrived, crews also located a fire in the second building (534 Dundas St. next door),” says Shawn Davis, district chief with the London Fire Department.
“We had several people trapped in the second building from smoke, which we later determined was from another fire. No occupants were injured, but we did have to evacuate several occupants.”
London Police and Fire Prevention Officers are investigating. Davis says the fire in 534 Dundas St. was quickly determined to be suspicious, but they are still looking into the cause of the fire at 538 Dundas St.
As CTV was capturing video of the buildings, a number of people walking by told us that they aren’t surprised by what happened. They all stated that these buildings often have “people coming and going”, they are “associated with drugs” and that “there is way too many people living in each room.”
Davis says they did encounter what looked to be a “hoarding situation”.
“We do have more occupants that probably aren’t even listed as living here,” says Davis.
“We do have some hoarding situations, between transient, and whatever else may be in these buildings.”
With temperatures barely above zero early in the morning, London police contacted London Transit who had a bus parked outside with a couple of tenants inside staying warm.
Davis says those residents will be out of their homes for at least one night, and likely more.
“We will wait for the inspection, and after we determine what happened, we’ll see if charges are pressed. We will then turn the building back over to the owner and try to get it back to housing again”.
No one was injured.
