Hamilton Firefighters rescue trapped resident in Wellington Place apartment blaze

Hamilton firefighters rescued one person who was trapped in a 15th floor apartment unit engulfed in flames at Wellington Place Apartments Wednesday night.

The tenant was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries from smoke inhalation.

Emergency services were called to the 125 Wellington St. N., south of Cannon Street East, just before 11 p.m. May 31 for a structure fire.

Arriving crews found heavy fire visible from a 15th floor balcony, with flames starting to reach toward other units, said Hamilton Fire Chief Dave Cunliffe. The alarm was upgraded to draw in more resources across the city.

Firefighters were told there may be someone trapped.

They began an aggressive search and rescue" and quickly found the tenant, who was taken by paramedics to hospital, he said.

The fire was quickly controlled, but there is significant smoke and fire damage in the apartment and balcony. The balcony also sustained structural damage.

The cause of the fire and the estimated damages are not yet known.

The Office of the Fire Marshal has been called to investigate. An investigator was expected Tuesday.

Hamilton police are holding the scene.

No one else was hurt. The Red Cross was called to help with other residents from the affected unit.

Nicole O'Reilly is a Hamilton-based reporter covering crime and justice for The Spectator. Reach her via email: noreilly@thespec.com