Victoria condo fire temporarily displaces dozens of people

Dozens of people were displaced after a fire broke out at a Victoria condo overnight on Feb. 13, 2024.

Sixty people have been temporarily displaced by an overnight condo fire in Victoria – and some of the owners say they’ve been told they could be out of their home for a year.

“It’s just traumatizing, especially seeing firsthand where the smoke and the fire came from,” says Iris Salvador.

The fourth floor homeowner says she heard noises outside after returning home from work around midnight, and when she peered into the hallway she saw smoke coming from a unit across from hers.

“(I) saw the two tenants coming out and they were like panicking already,” says Salvador.

Salvador, her husband and their two young children rushed out of the Bay Street condo, joining dozens of others on the street.

“We thought it was going to take an hour at the most but then quickly it just caught the whole roof on fire,” says another displaced tenant, Bruno Welte.

The Victoria Fire Department says the alarms and sprinklers were going off inside the building on arrival. A fourth floor balcony was on fire, along with the roof.

“We don’t know what the point of origin was. We just know that’s what the crews saw when they arrived,” says Deputy Chief Steve Serbic.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and no injuries have been reported.

“It’s a large apartment building. There are several units that have been damaged by fire, smoke and water damage so depending how the restoration company works through that – that’ll depend on how the residents can return to their homes,” says Serbic.

Emergency Support Services volunteers have been working with the residents helping get everyone into hotels over the short-term – and to assess the resources they might need.

“I’d really like to extend our appreciation for the patience that a lot of these people had,” says Geoff Pendrell, Victoria’s deputy emergency program coordinator. “In many cases they were waiting on a bus for hours and then waiting through a process to be registered and supported through our team.”

Welte and his partner already know they're among the residents who will be displaced over the long-term. The middle school teacher says the couple’s ground floor condo has water damage – and they were told to prepare alternate housing for up to a year.

“It was gut-wrenching, to be honest with you,” he says. “We just hugged basically. It’s those moments of trying to contain each other.”