Careless smoking sparks Hamilton apartment fire

Three tenants were treated for minor injuries after a fire in a downtown Hamilton apartment building Saturday afternoon.

Hamilton Police said the 911 call came in just after 5 p.m. to 50 Cathcart Steet. By 5:35 p.m. the fire department tweeted that the fire was out.

Police said the fire started after a woman fell asleep while smoking on the couch of her fifth floor apartment.

A photo posted by the Hamilton Fire Department to twitter shows firefighters working with a ladder truck on a fifth floor Wellington Place apartment balcony, facing Kelly Street.

Part of the apartment building complex - bound by Wilson Street in the south, Kelly Street in the north, Wellington Street North in the east and Cathcart Street in the west - was evacuated for a couple of hours while firefighters ventilated the building.

Paramedics treated three tenants for smoke inhalation and one person suffered minor burns on their hands.

The fire caused approximately $40,000 in damages, according to police.

J.P. Antonacci's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows him to report on stories about the regions of Haldimand and Norfolk.