Heavy smoke poured from the top floor of a four-storey Esquimalt apartment building Sunday afternoon.
Multiple witnesses told CTV News they saw at least one woman trapped outside on a fourth-floor balcony of the building on the 800 block of Craigflower Road.
One man said he saw a panicked woman on the balcony while others urged her to jump.
"There are people holding a blanket out for somebody to jump. I heard somebody say, 'Throw us a rope or something.' I didn't see anybody come out of the top unit there," one man told CTV News.
Witnesses said she was reluctant to jump.
"A lady came out of her suite, was on the balcony and she didn't want to jump down so she laid down flat and we saw flames on her," a woman said.
Fire officials said it is "highly likely" that the woman did not survive. However, they have not confirmed whether anyone has died or is missing.
Firefighters from neighbouring fire departments also responded to the blaze.
