2 a.m. UPDATE: RESIDENTS RETURN HOME AND FIRE DEPARTMENT RETURNS TO QUARTERS
UPDATE @ 12:30 a.m. (January 9, 2020): A Belleville Fire Department Captain tells Quinte News, residents at 179 Palmer Road were evacuated from the building after carbon monoxide was detected.
Captain Andy Noyes says firefighters were called to the 10-floor, 116-unit building around 10:30 p.m. and after finding initial readings of carbon monoxide on the first and second floors, additional crews were called in to investigate further.
Noyes says they estimate that 300 to 400 people live in the building and the entire process to investigate and get people back inside will likely take a couple of hours.
He says they’re hoping to have residents home by 6:00 a.m. at the latest.
A few residents reported having headaches, but Noyes couldn’t confirm if that was related to the call.
An investigation into the cause is continuing.
(Original story below)
Emergency crews stage outside 179 Palmer Road in Belleville, after a report of a gas leak caused an evacuation of the building, on January 8, 2020. (Photo: John Spitters / Quinte News)
Residents at 179 Palmer Road are being evacuated after a report of a gas leak late this evening.
A Belleville Fire Department official tells Quinte News that residents are being taken to the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre as crews investigate.
Social media reports indicate a resident on the building’s second floor called in the potential leak, around 10:30 p.m. and the smell was noticed as high up as the 10th floor.
Those reports also indicate it could be a couple of hours before the situation is updated, but the BFD official who spoke to Quinte News couldn’t provide further details.
City buses were used to take residents to the QSWC and Firefighters are currently going floor to floor, to clear the building and search for a cause.
Enbridge Gas has also been called in to investigate.
We’ll have an update on the story as the situation develops.
