Williams Lake Fire Department (WLFD) responded to a structure fire in an unoccupied section of the Hamilton Hotel in the early morning hours of Dec. 18.
Staff at the adjacent low-barrier shelter in the main hotel building, operated by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), noticed signs of a fire in the unoccupied building during a routine perimeter check, said Tereena Donahue, executive director of CMHA in Williams Lake.
They called the fire department and at 4 a.m., WLFD said firefighters were called in to a complaint of burning taking place at 55 6th Avenue South.
This was subsequently upgraded to a structure fire after reports of multiple rooms on fire in the unoccupied building at the rear of the property.
A fire in the second story burned through into a room on the first floor, said WLFD Fire Chief Evan Dean.
The Hamilton Hotel itself has been operated by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) as a low-barrier shelter for people experiencing homelessness since December 2021.
Fire in the unoccupied building resulted in the staff of the shelter evacuating the shelter staff and residents into the front parking lot of the hotel.
Dean said quite a lot of smoke was going towards the shelter building and he asked the rear of the building to be cleared for everyone’s safety.
“It has been a long night, for sure,” said Donahue on Monday.
She said the evacuated residents and staff were able to be transferred to another CMHA location while the fire was being dealt with.
“I am happy with our staff who observed the incident and quickly initiated our safety procedures,” said Donahue, noting she was also relieved no one was injured in the incident.
She said the organization would be reviewing their procedures to see if there is anything they can do to improve their responses.
Donahue also said the building had been an issue earlier in the year, but the owner had taken steps to secure the premises by boarding it up and installing a perimeter fence. Since then there had not been any incidents with people accessing the building prior to the fire.
WLFD attended with two command vehicles, three large apparatus, and 20 firefighters.
After they confirmed the building was unoccupied, firefighters were able to contain the fire to the area of origin, according to Dean. Crews spent about two hours dealing with the incident.
Dean said the investigation is ongoing and he would be sharing his findings with the RCMP who would then determine what further action would be required.
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire and Dean also said he would be contacting the property owner in regards to securing the vacant building.
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