Investigators won’t know until at least the end of the week why fire broke out in a large apartment building on Dobson Road in Duncan on Sunday.
Wray Watson, Duncan’s assistant fire chief, said there’s still no power or utilities at Parkland Place.
“We need to get the insurance company investigators and everybody in place to have a look at things. The building is secured 24 hours a day, so there’s no real rush,” Watson said.
“All we know is it started in a ground-floor apartment. We haven’t been in touching anything. We don’t plan to do the investigation until everybody is ready to move ahead.”
The investigation will probably take place at the end of the week, he said.
On Monday afternoon, firefighters went into the building to retrieve some personal belongings and essentials.
“We went in with breathing apparatus and got their medications and a few sets of [false] teeth. … we went in and got whatever we could get to make their lives a little more enjoyable,” Watson said.
The firefighters also retrieved some mobility scooters, he said. “Anything we could retrieve we did. But some items couldn’t be recovered because of fire damage.”
Thirteen people, including one firefighter, were treated for smoke inhalation.
This was the second large fire at the building, which does not have a sprinkler system.
In January 2014, 100 residents were displaced for several days after fire broke out in a third-floor apartment.
This time, about 100 displaced tenants are staying with family and friends or are being cared for by the Cowichan Valley Regional District at the Island Savings Centre.
Tenants in the damaged end of the building will be displaced for some time and the CVRD is trying to find accommodation for them, Watson said.
“The insurance companies will have to do decide if they want to restore, rebuild or start new,” he said. “It could be upward of a year based on the extensive damage.”
