Smoke from roof fire in Oak Bay prompts apartment building evacuation

Residents of an apartment building in Oak Bay were evacuated from their homes Monday afternoon due to smoke from a roof fire.

Oak Bay's Acting Deputy Fire Chief Roger Stewart says firefighters were called to the 2200-block of Oak Bay Avenue for a report of smoke in a building.

"Since this building is close to the fire hall, we had a quick response," Stewart told CHEK News around 4 p.m. "Mutual aid was called, Saanich and Victoria (fire crews) responded as well."

Stewart says crews responded to the roof of the building, where a small blaze was discovered and quickly extinguished.

But he says smoke did the most damage.

"The smoke entered the HVAC system and then was moved throughout the entire building," said Stewart.

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"Even though the fire was extinguished, the smoke ended up migrating throughout the entire building. We had to search multiple units and make sure all residents were safe."

Residents have been cleared to return to their units, and Stewart says the fire remains under investigation.

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