Crews battle two apartment fires in under two hours

Fire crews battled two separate apartment fires on Ouellette Avenue on Dec. 29, 2024. (Robert Lothian/CTV News Windsor)

Windsor Fire and Rescue responded to two calls at Ouellette Avenue apartment buildings Sunday morning.

Acting Chief Fire Prevention Officer John Smith told CTV News crews responded to a fire at 810 Ouellette Ave. around 10 a.m. for a fire on the 11th floor.

“Crews entered a unit on the 11th floor, found a mattress fire and quickly extinguished that mattress fire,” Smith said.

One person was displaced from the unit, and the fire did not spread, Smith said.

The cause is believed to be accidental due to “careless smoking” and cost an estimated $75,000 in damages.

Around 11:40 a.m. crews responded to a separate fire on the 16th floor of 920 Ouellette.

“Fire crews entered the unit to extinguish the fire, they found one male occupant. The occupant was removed from the unit and EMS transported that occupant to the hospital,” Smith said.

There is no word on the seriousness of the individual's injuries.

The response temporarily stopped traffic on Ouellette between Erie Street and Elliott Street.

The Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal has been notified. The cause of the second fire remains under investigation.

Due to the size of the buildings, 8 crews including more than 30 firefighters responded to the fire.