A residential fire that blazed through a four-storey apartment complex in Esquimalt on Sunday has sadly claimed the life of one woman, the BC Coroners Service confirmed Monday.
The fire broke out at approximately 4 p.m. on the top floor of the building in the 800-block of Craigflower Road.
See also: Fire engulfs top floor of Esquimalt apartment building
While dozens of firefighters from Esquimalt, CFB Esquimalt, Victoria, and View Royal were fighting the blaze, reports came in of multiple people being trapped in some upper floor units.
Firefighters proceeded to rescue those who were trapped in the building with the use of ladders, but one woman on the fourth floor was unable to escape.
Witnesses say that bystanders tried to establish a safety net at the base of the woman’s fourth-floor balcony, but she decided against jumping. The Coroners Service says that the woman who died was in her sixties.
Further information will be released by the Coroners Service once a full investigation has been completed.
Victoria Buzz has reached out to Esquimalt Fire for further details.
