At least fifty residents are still not allowed to go home after an apartment fire in Barrie on Saturday night.

It happened just before 10:00 p.m. at an apartment complex on D’Ambrosio Drive.

When emergency crews arrived they found one apartment up in flames. Fire crews were able to contain the fire to one unit and put it out.

Saturday was a day Tammy Shank and Kevin Lafreniere will never forget but not for the reasons they expected.

“I took her about four hours north to ask her to marry me in front of a waterfall and we got home around 11:00 and our place was on fire,” says Lafreniere.

They lived in the three-storey apartment building that caught fire Saturday night in Barrie.

Corey Blowes jumped into action when he realized the fire was coming from neighbour’s home.

“I heard a commotion outside and there was a guy standing out front and pointing and said he could see the flames shooting and then I got my daughter and girlfriend out and as soon as I got into the hallway there was smoke coming out of the door,” says Blowes.

Corey and his girlfriend had just put their daughter to bed, minutes later flames filled the sky.

“I would say within 20 minutes, no within15 minutes everybody was out and the flames were just roaring,” says Ashley Sheppard.

“When I came outside the front door here it was pretty loud with the crackling and everything and the flames were shooting out pretty good. There were sparks everywhere, it was pretty insane,” added Blowes.

On Sunday the Ontario Fire Marshall was called in for two reasons.

“It’s in excess of $500,000 and the fire extended beyond the unit of origin,” says Barrie Fire Chief John Lynn.

Officials say there is a lot of smoke and water damage and the fire started in a bedroom on the second floor.

“The fire obviously started in Unit 210 and it progressed from there and it escalated outside of the unit of origin via the balcony as well as the interior of the building through the doorway of the apartment building,” says Scott Evenden with the Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office.

Investigators found a smoke alarm in the unit but say the alarm still has to be tested to see if it was working. Two people were taken to hospital with minor injuries and fifty people were evacuated. But finding a place to stay last night was a challenge for some.

“There was not a hotel room in Barrie to be found, nowhere. We had to go to Newmarket,” says Heather Bakker.

The Canadian Red Cross set up an emergency shelter at a nearby church in Innisfil to help those in need.

“There were 24 that were supposed to come down, we ended up with nine who slept over last night and there will be others who today will probably find out their home is unfit to return to,” says Pastor Howard Courtney from Innisfil Community Church.

The Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office says people won’t be allowed back into their homes on Sunday but hopes people living on the first and third floor will be allowed back sometime on Monday.

The Fire Marshall will be back on scene on Monday and a meeting for residents has been set up at 1:00 p.m. on Monday.