New accommodations are being secured for six students at the Wilfrid Laurier University Brantford campus after they were evacuated from their residence due to a fire.
According to Kevin Klein, external relations coordinator at the Brantford campus, the Fire Department and Special Constables responded to a blaze at the Expositor Place residence just after 10:00 a.m., when a fire alarm was activated. A sprinkler system extinguished the fire shortly after.
One student was injured and has been taken to hospital. The initial reports stated that he received second-degree burns to his left arm, said Klein.
“He was conscious when he was going to hospital, so other than the burn he was in relatively good shape. That was the only injury reported,” explained Klein.
The fire was started when a pot on a stove in one of the residence’s suites caught on fire. While most students are able to return to their rooms, the suite in question and the one below it suffered smoke and water damage.
“The suite in question and the suite directly below it have been affected by smoke or water damage,” he said.
The number of students present in the residence at the time of the fire has not been reported, but the residence can hold up to 214 students in single rooms. The university is arranging transportation and alternative accommodations for the students, and students have been advised to notify their parents.