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A man in his 50’s remains in critical condition following a fire at a Hamilton apartment building early Wednesday morning.

Firefighters found him unresponsive in a unit in the basement when they arrived just after 2:00am. Officials say the cause of the blaze was likely careless smoking. The fire was contained to the one apartment but heavy smoke filled the entire floor.

One woman and her five year-old son were inside another apartment on the basement floor when it happened and became trapped inside.

“I heard the fire alarm and went and checked outside. It was really smokey. I went and woke him up… went back to go back out and it was so engulfed with smoke I couldn’t get out. I came to the window and started screaming at the top of my lungs”.

A neighbour heard her cries for help.  He told her to break a window and then helped her and her son climb to safety.

Damages to the building have been estimated at $10,000. The Ontario Fire Marshal has been notified.