One woman dead after apartment fire in Saanich, B.C., on Vancouver Island

One womanis dead and two other people arein hospital after a fire at an apartment building in Saanich, B.C., broke out before dawn on Friday.

Fire crews were called to the apartment in the 2600 block ofRichmond Street, two blocks fromJubilee Hospital, around 4:30 a.m. The building was evacuated as flames spread through multiple units in the top floor of the building.

Assistant Deputy Chief Rod Heppel of theSaanich Fire Departmentsaid four people were rescued from fourth floor balconies. Two people weretaken to hospital, though the extent of their injuries is not known.

SaanichPolice Detective Sgt.Damian Kowalewich said later Friday morning thata woman in her 60swas found unresponsive in the hallway of the building after the fire was out. Shehas since died from their injuries.

"Every indication is that the female did succumb to her injuries ...from this fire," he explained. "We're working ... withnext of kin right now to communicate with the family."

SaanichFire Chief Michael Burgess said in an interview on CBC's All Points West Friday afternoon that fire crews"did the best they could to help this person, though I think it's safe to say the event had taken place long before our crews arrived on-scene."

About two dozenresidents gathered outside the building as firefighters doused the flames. Matthew Smith lives in the building and said he woke up to the sound of the fire alarm.

"We proceeded outside," he said Friday morning. "That's when I noticed about a hundred-foot-tall [30-metre-tall] column of smoke. I ran around the corner and saw flames shooting out the patio door, about 15 feet [four metres]."

The fire was out by 7:30 a.m. Jerry Tomljenovic,Saanichfire captain and information officer, said two units in the apartment are severely damaged by fire. Approximately six units are directly affectedby smoke and water, while 18 units are indirectly affected.

Burgessthat because it's an older apartment, there was nosprinkler system. However the building "certainly did have a fire alarm system which did activate."

Around fifty displaced residents are now being given "food, waterand lodging" at the Cedar Hill Recreation Centre, said Tomljenovic, adding that the building will undergo air quality testing and a structural integrity assessmentto determine whether it's stable.

'Much of the building is still tenable, so we'll let [the residents] know as soon as we possibly can," he said.

Kowalewichsaid officialsareinvestigating the cause of the fire andnotedsurveillance footage might provide important information.