Kamloops apartment fire sends 5 to hospital
33 residents displaced by early morning fire at the former Duchess Hotel
An early-morning fire at a Kamloops apartment building has sent five people to hospital and displaced 33.
The fire broke out in a unit above the Duchess nightclub on Tranquille Road around 2:30 a.m. PT Wednesday.
When crews arrived, flames were coming out of a third-storey window.
According to Captain Daryl Cooper of Kamloops Fire Rescue, two people who were trapped on the third floor had to be rescued by ladder.
"There was a gentleman with his leg out a third-floor window calling for help, so we laddered the building and removed two people there," said Cooper.
Crews were able to quickly knock the fire down.
The City of Kamloops has set up a warming and reception centre for the evacuees on McArthur Island.
Initial reports indicate one person suffered burns in the fire, while four others needed treatment for smoke inhalation.
Investigators will be at the scene looking for a cause of the fire later Wednesday.