The Saanich Fire Department investigation into the June 21 blaze at a Richmond Road apartment complex that killed a woman in her 60s says it was likely caused by an electrical-appliance failure in her fourth-floor suite.
Capt. Jerry Tomljenovic said the failure likely involved a power bar or one of the items plugged into it.
“Due to the destructive nature of fire we’ve had to send those off for further forensic identification.”
Tomljenovic said firefighters arrived at the fire about 4:30 a.m. and several people had to be rescued from their balconies.
“Sadly one person was found unresponsive in a hallway and did ultimately succumb to their injuries.”
Many residents are still displaced from the 85-unit building.
“Thirty-one units were heavily damaged and remain uninhabitable,” Tomljenovic said.
He said 22 residents are continuing to make use of the support of Saanich Emergency Social Services. Residents were offered space at the Cedar Hill Recreation Centre immediately after the fire but have since moved on.
“At this point we’ve received many comments from folks who are relieved that they’ve been able to have social services,” Tomljenovic said. “They are being cared for through hotels and have been provided with food until Thursday.
“The Saanich emergency program is continuing to work with local agencies to transition them into longer-term care.”
It is unclear how long the damaged suites will be out of commission, Tomljenovic said.
“Much of that will be determined through remediation with the affected units,” he said. “Some of those units would have received damage from the units above, so smoke and water that had filtered down from the fourth floor.”
He said people should have an idea of what they would do in the event of a fire.
“It’s always a tragedy when somebody loses their life in a fire,” he said. “What we do like people to be mindful of is to have a home-escape plan, be aware of meeting places outside.
“Just know your home, know how to get out of it. Practice it.”
Tomljenovic said the fire-damaged building was inspected on May 8 and passed. “We inspect these buildings twice a year,” he said. “Everything worked as it should. The smoke alarm worked, fire doors.
“It did receive a fire-alarm upgrade in 2005, so it had the current technology for fire alarms.”
It is an older building built to “the standard of the day” and had sprinklers only in the covered-parking area, Tomljenovic said.
Saanich was assisted by the Oak Bay and Victoria fire departments in fighting the fire.
