Dog dead, one person hospitalized in Hamilton townhouse fire

A fire inside a townhouse unit in Hamilton early Thursday morning has left a dog dead and one person in hospital for further assessment.

Hamilton fire responded to reports of a structure blaze at 48 Caroga Court, near Morgan Road and Garth Street, around 2 a.m.

Firefighters say there was an active fire inside a townhouse unit, which they had extinguished.

“As they got in, they encountered heavy black smoke and high heat,” said Hamilton Fire Chief Dave Cunliffe. “Quickly, they found a fire burning in a room on the first floor, well-involved, and that was quickly knocked down.”

Crews searched the home and confirmed there were no additional occupants inside.

A woman in her seventies who lives alone in the unit was outside when crews arrived.

She was assessed by paramedics and transported to hospital, where she was deemed to be in stable condition — unfortunately her dog did not survive.

There was a fire in this exact townhouse complex last month, and it was the second fire at that unit in the matter of hours.

WATCH MORE: 14 people displaced after fire at west Hamilton Mountain townhome complex

“The initial response to this residence was just after midnight,” said Cunliffe. “There was nothing visible from the exterior. They went inside and found a small pile of paper that was on fire inside the front door — that fire was very quickly extinguished, the smoke was removed.”

The early morning commotion brought many neighbours out to the courtyard, including Tyler Shanner.

“I was walking and then all of a sudden I heard all these fire trucks coming in, and then all of the sudden, ‘uh oh, crap, here we go again’,” said Shanner.

On June 1, a multi-alarm fire damaged three homes, displacing 14 people, the devastation of which is still very much tangible.

That fire prompted the community to come together to pool resources and donate clothes, furniture and anything that they could spare for the families.

One of the families affected by last month’s fire, which had two young kids, were relocated to the very courtyard where last night’s fire broke out.

“So they got her out and put her into 53 because it was empty, which unfortunately is two doors down,” said Lisa Baker, one of the neighbours, “so the poor little girl is just devastated. She just stared at the fire trucks, absolutely terrified — she didn’t know what to do.”

Crews say the damages caused by the blaze is estimated to be around $250,000.

The Office of the Fire Marshal and police are investigating the incident to determine what caused the fire.

WATCH MORE: Hamilton city employee risks life to help rescue residents from house fire