3 people dead, including 2 children, in Hamilton apartment fire

Three people, including two children, are dead following a 3-alarm apartment fire in Hamilton.

Hamilton firefighters were called to a first-floor blaze at 35 Brock Street, north of Burlington Street East, just after 10 a.m. Sunday.

“Crews very quickly got inside the building and they were met immediately with heavy smoke in the hallways and stairwells. At the same time, we had numbers of people trying to evacuate which became a challenge,” said Hamilton Fire Chief David Cunliffe, who added that their attempts to get into the first-floor apartment were hampered by “extreme heat, extreme smoke and extreme flame.”

“When the firefighters got to the first floor, to the apartment, we had fire blowing out of the apartment into the hallway.”

Cunliffe said once firefighters were able to get into the apartment, they found the bodies of two children and an adult. The ages and genders of the victims were not immediately available.

Cunliffe said eight other people have been taken to hospital to be treated for unknown injuries while two others were treated on scene.

No firefighters sustained injuries.

Cunliffe added that the fire caused “significant damage” to the first floor of the waterfront complex and those residents will not be allowed back into their apartments at this time.

The Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal has been called in to investigate the origin and cause of the blaze.