1 dead, 5 in hospital after multiple-alarm Hamilton house fire

One person is dead and five others are in hospital following a multiple-alarm house fire Friday morning in Hamilton’s east end.

The Hamilton Fire Department responded shortly after 9 a.m. for a report of a structure fire at 69 Century St. between Ashley St. and Wentworth St. North.

Crews upgraded the blaze to a multiple-alarm fire within minutes of arriving.

“There was a person trapped at a window on the second floor, one person on a covered porch roof and two people on the roof of the house next door,” said Hamilton Fire Chief Dave Cunliffe.

NEW | F23004267 | STRUCTURE FIRE | Loc: 0 Block CENTURY ST HAM @ ASHLEY ST/WENTWORTH ST N | Units: C73,C74,E1,E11,L1,L9,PC1,P6 | 02/17/23 09:19

— HamOnt Fire Dept (@HFD_Incidents) February 17, 2023

The fire department initially said that nine people were in the house at the time of the blaze.

But later in the morning, Hamilton police received a report of a person unaccounted, who was on the second floor of the home.

Cunliffe says firefighters searching that floor had to evacuate after a floor collapsed in the back of the house.

Fire crews later searched the area and found the body of a deceased person.

Hamilton Emergency Paramedic Services Supt. Dave Thompson says one person was taken to a local trauma centre in critical, life-threatening condition. Two more people are in serious condition and one person is in stable condition at a local trauma centre. Paramedics transported another person to a different hospital in stable condition.

Thompson says EMS treated a sixth person at the scene, but they were not taken to hospital.

He did not confirm the ages and genders of the victims, but believes they are all adults.

2023-02-17 10:17:23 ROAD RESTRICTION: #Hamilton Century St CLOSED between Ashley St and Wentworth St N #HamOnt

— HPS_Traffic (@hps_traffic) February 17, 2023

Ashley St. remains closed between Century St. and Cannon St. East as fire crews deal with hot spots.

Cunliffe says the cost of damage is estimated to be more than $850,000.

Fire crews have not yet indicated the cause of the blaze.

The Office of the Fire Marshal will assist in the investigation.