A fire at the former Comfort Inn and Suites Tuesday morning was confined to one fourth-floor room, but up to 20 units could need some form of water remediation, says Victoria Fire Department Deputy Chief Dan Atkinson.
The site also had a fire May 24 that didn’t spread beyond a single room.
The building at 3020 Blanshard St. offers accommodation to people who were previously living in tents in Topaz Park or along a stretch of Pandora Avenue, a transition made possible after the provincial government bought the facility last month for $18.5 million.
Residents are supported by Our Place Society and the Victoria Cool Aid Society.
Atkinson said the first 911 call was received about 8:20 a.m. and crews were able to put the fire out quickly. One occupant had been in the unit but got out safely.
“It was a room-and-contents fire and it did activate the sprinkler system,” he said. “The sprinkler system did a really good job of not allowing it to spread too radically.”
Remediation in the other rooms could range from pulling up the carpet and bringing in fans to working on drywall and paint.
He said there is bound to be a fair bit of damage, “being that it was on the fourth floor and water runs downhill.”
