Prince George, B.C.- Most of the residents of the retirement complex, the Prince George Chateau,  are heading back to their suites.

“The air quality testing has gone  very well” says Brad Beckett, Deputy Director of the City’s Evacuation Support Program  About 150 residents were forced  from the building this morning  when a fire broke out in a suite in the west wing.  They were first  put on buses to  keep them warm,  then  moved to the dining room  when the all clear was given.

Beckett says it looks like all but  5 to 7 suites in the west wing  are ready to be re-occupied.  Those 5-7  are closest  to the one  where the fire broke out,  and   with restoration crews  on site doing  clean up  work,  it would be best that those residents be moved to  another area of the facility until that restoration work is complete.

Because the Chateau  was not fully occupied,  those residents not allowed back to their regular  suite,  can be  relocated to another within the building.  The property management is working with those residents to have  some of their essential needs moved  to the new areas.

The fire that started in a  reclining chair in one of the suites just before 10 this morning,  was  quickly doused by the sprinkler system, but not before  smoke  escaped to other  areas of the wing.  One person who was in the suite where the fire started was sent to hospital, as were two others who  had been moved to  a  bus .  Their immediate conditions are not known.

Fire fighters from all four  fire halls in  Prince George,  Ambulance and  the RCMP responded to the situation this morning.