Fire crews on scene of apartment fire Saturday night. Photos 250News

Prince George, B.C. – Twenty-seven people escaped injury Saturday night when a ground floor suite of an apartment block on Queensway Avenue erupted in flame.

A sizeable compliment of firefighters and five trucks responded to the fire at the City Gate Apartments, 1601 Queensway, at 8:33 Saturday night. A tenant who was standing out across the street from the building said the blaze had started in the corner suite occupied by an elderly woman. He said he thought she, and all of the other tenants of the building, had managed to get out safely. However he wasn’t sure about her cat.

Prince George Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Cliff Warner told 250 News that there are 20 suites in the building and there were 24 tenants and three guests in it when the fire broke out. He said all of those people had been accounted for, but he wasn’t sure about the status of any pets.

Building tenants look on from across Queensway

Deputy Chief Warner said every suite in the building was being checked thoroughly to make sure the fire had completely been put down. He also said suite furthest away from the fire suite would be checked out to determine whether it might be possible for some tenants to get back into their suites right away.

Warner could not immediately say what caused the fire.

A transit bus provided shelter for displaced residents

Meantime, the people who left the building watched from the sidewalk across the street and exchanged thoughts about the fire and their future in the building as Prince George Fire Rescue went about the task of making sure the fire had been completely extinguished. A Prince George Transit bus was brought to the scene to provide warmth and shelter while emergency crews performed their duties.