Halifax Fire says the large apartment fire in Middle Sackville has been extinguished, but the building is heavily damaged.
Crews responded to the scene of a significant fire in Middle Sackville early Monday morning, which forced hundreds of people out of their homes.
According to an official, firefighters were called just after midnight to the fire on Hanwell Drive.
“It’s contained to the one building, it’s a four-storey and the whole building is basically on fire,” explained Halifax Fire District Chief Brad Connors. “All four floors have been affected and all the units in the building.”
An evacuation order for a stretch of homes on Hanwell Drive was lifted as of 8 a.m., according to an HFX Alert. People living in the apartment building itself remain evacuated.
“Just due to the houses located behind the structure and the amount of fire,” Connors said. “We’ve got lines in place to protect those homes from the embers that are falling down.”
The municipality says about 300 people had been evacuated as a result of the fire. An evacuation centre was expected to be open as of 7 a.m. at the Springfield Lake Recreation Centre.
District Chief Stephen Bussey provided an update to 95.7 NewsRadio, saying the fire has been extinguished, but the roof is gone and the building is no longer structurally safe.
“The crews knocked down what they could see on the exterior before making entering the interior,” he said. “They put up a valiant fight inside however, we still lost the roof.”
No injuries have been reported from the fire, but crews did have to work to rescue several people.
Firefighters are expected to be on the scene for most of the day on Monday.
