Two major fires hit downtown Windsor high-rise within two-day span

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A massive emergency response to a fire at a downtown high-rise apartment blocked off a section of Ouellette Avenue Thursday afternoon, making this the building’s second incident in two days.

Mike Coste, chief fire prevention officer for Windsor Fire and Rescue Services, said there is “no connection” between Wednesday and Thursday’s blazes at 900 Ouellette Ave.

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Windsor police confirmed that one individual was taken into custody at the scene Thursday, but the origin and cause of the fire remains undetermined.

Coste said there were no injuries, but a few residents from the 400-unit building received on-site medical attention from EMS for inhalation issues.

Two major fires hit downtown Windsor high-rise within two-day span — Windsor firefighters and police are shown at a highrise apartment building at 920 Ouellette Avenue on Thursday, January 25, 2024. A unit suffered extensive fire damage. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star

Called to respond to the “hazmat incident” around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Coste said firefighters arrived to a fully involved fire on the 10th floor.

He said smoke was visibly billowing out from the unit’s balcony.

While the total damage is undetermined, he expects it to be “significant.”

“I’m sure the unit is completely gone,” Coste said. “It will be significant damage.”

“It’s in an investigation stage at this time,” he said. “We’ll have more answers later on.”

As a precautionary measure, he said a hazardous material team was brought in, though the investigators are yet to determine the presence of any materials.

“There was an initial call that there was possible chemicals, so we were being pre-cautious,” he said.

“We don’t want to take a chance, especially when there’s a chemical involved.”

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Dan Janisse/Windsor Star — WINDSOR, ONT: JANUARY 25, 2024. First responders in hazmat suits wheel a stretcher outside 900 Ouellette Ave on Thursday, January 25, 2024, following a unit fire where potential chemical involvement was suspected. Photo by Madeline Mazak /win

Emergency crews also responded to an unrelated fire on the seventeenth floor around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.

One individual was rescued and is currently hospitalized for their injuries, said Coste.

Windsor Fire estimates the total damage to be $400,000. The cause remains undetermined and is not deemed suspicious.

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Second floor resident Ray Poisson said Thursday it is “nonsense” that there has been two major fires at the building within a two-day span.

Gaynor Lunn, a third floor resident, said she was exiting the bus and making her way toward the building when she saw plumes of smoke escaping the building.

“It’s chaos,” she said while waiting outside for more than an hour for the green flag to re-enter the building.

Coste said some residents were evacuated, while some sheltered in place. At least two Transit Windsor buses were on sight to keep evacuees warm while crews went floor-by-floor to test the air quality for elevated levels of CO2.

“This (emergency response) doesn’t happen overnight,” he said.

“This is a response put in place for when this type of incident occurs. Of course, you’re in a high-rise building, so that makes it a much bigger scene.”

Over the next few days, Windsor Police, the Ontario Fire Marshall, and Windsor Fire and Rescue will work together to determine the origin and cause of Thursday’s fire.

mmazak@postmedia.com