Sudbury

3 volunteer firefighters injured battling blaze in Capreol, Ont.

Three volunteer firefighters were injured Wednesday night while battling a fire at a fourplex in the Greater Sudbury community of Capreol. All tenants were safely evacuated.

The firefighters were transported to a hospital to treat non-life threatening wounds

Explosion knocks building’s façade on top of firefighters

10 months ago
Duration 0:44
Three volunteer firefighters were injured Wednesday night when parts of a fourplex in the Capreol community of Greater Sudbury fell on top of them. (Video: Nick Lavoie)

Three volunteer firefighters were injured Wednesday night while battling a fire at a fourplex in the Greater Sudbury community of Capreol.

"At some point of applying water through the front of the building, there was a catastrophic event to the structure causing the front façade to fall down and unfortunately injuring three of our firefighters in the process," Craig Lawrence, the city's assistant deputy fire chief, told Radio-Canada.

Lawrence said the injuries to the firefighters were not serious, but they were transported to Health Sciences North to tend to their wounds and for observation.

He said firefighters arrived at the scene about 7:28 p.m. and were able to get the fire under control a couple of hours later.

Three firefighters with smoke in the background.
Three volunteer firefighters were injured when the front façade of a fourplex in Capreol fell due to damage from a fire. (Carrie Baldwin-Seguin/Facebook)

Lawrence said the building's five tenants were safely evacuated. Four people who lived in the building next door also safely got out.

He said the building is a complete loss and the building next to it was damaged.

In a news release, Greater Sudbury police said detectives in their major crime section are working with the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office to determine the cause of the fire.

In a post on Facebook the Capreol Community Closet said it's accepting donations to help those affected by the fire. People interested in donating can call 705-822-6861.

With files from Francis Bouchard