BATTLEFORD ‑‑ Mayor Ames Leslie of Battleford has offered his thoughts to the victims of the apartment fire on the 1400 block of 102nd Street in North Battleford.
“I want to pass on condolences to those affected by the apartment fire in the City of North Battleford this past week,” said Leslie.
Leslie also gave “tremendous kudos” to the firefighters, paramedics and CSOs who were there. He said North Battleford Mayor David Gillan showed up to bring food to the first responders.
Leslie made the remarks at the start of Battleford’s council meeting Tuesday at Town Hall.
The apartment fire during the early morning hours of Jan. 3 brought out a full response from the North Battleford Fire Department as well as from the Battleford Fire Department and also the R.M. of North Battleford department.
RCMP, CSOs and EMS also responded to the scene and the city of North Battleford is reporting they activated their Emergency Operations Centre to coordinate the response that night. All the emergency responders had to brave freezing conditions throughout.
It was an “almost a 12-hour ordeal for emergency services by the time it was done,” said Leslie.
Leslie adds that if anyone has any extra clothes, Tropical Inn is accepting donations for those affected.
“There is a lot of families affected,” he said.
Meanwhile, the city of North Battleford has issued a news release providing further details about the fire. The good news is there are no reported fatalities, and everyone is now out of hospital.
According to the city, the building’s residents were evacuated, with 17 people transported to Battlefords Union Hospital. One person received treatment for non-life-threatening injuries, while 16 people were treated and discharged. Six emergency services personnel were also treated and released.
The City is asking residents avoid the 1400-block of 102 St. as crews continue to monitor for pocket fires and secure the scene. As well, the Canadian Red Cross is assisting in providing emergency support services for those displaced by the fire. Anyone impacted is encouraged to contact the Red Cross at 1-888-800-6493.
The fire is deemed suspicious and the RCMP is seeking the public's assistance to investigate the cause. Anyone with information is being encouraged to call 310-RCMP, Crime Stoppers at 1‐800‐222‐TIPS (8477) or www.saskcrimestoppers.com. The fire is being jointly investigated by the North Battleford Fire Department, the RCMP, and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.
