2 dead after apartment fire near Pembroke
1 firefighter taken to hospital after fire in Laurentian Valley
Two people are dead and a firefighter has been injured following a fire Thursday evening just outside of Pembroke, Ont., paramedics say.
Emergency crews were called to a fire near the intersection of Golf Course and Morrison roads in Laurentian Valley around 11 p.m., according to an Ontario Provincial Police news release Friday morning.
One person was deemed to have died and was not brought out of the multi-unit apartment building, the County of Renfrew Paramedic Service said.
Later on Friday, OPP Const. Mike Mahon confirmed that a second dead person was found inside the structure. The two people have yet to be identified, he said.
Another 10 people were checked by paramedics on scene during the evacuation process.
A firefighter with non-life-threatening injuries was the only person transported to hospital.
Michael Nolan, chief of the County of Renfrew Paramedic Service, said one person was treated on site for smoke inhalation.
The 10 people evacuated from the building were provided temporary accommodation, he added.
The scene investigation is ongoing, police said.
Morrison Road was closed Friday morning between Pembroke Street W. and Golf Course Road, police said on X. They asked people to avoid the area, which is around 120 kilometres west of downtown Ottawa.
This is the second significant fire in the area in recent weeks. A fire on March 28 in Pembroke saw one person taken to hospital, where they later died.
Mahon said there's no indication either fire was suspicious. He added that the OPP, the Ontario Fire Marshal and the coroner's office have started their investigation into this latest fire.
"I can understand how people would be concerned about that, but at this point we have no information to lead to any concern for public safety," he said.