Multiple families homeless after building fire

Jack Brakel, 21, was asleep when his girlfriend Kayla Evans woke him up.

With the fire alarm blaring in the hallway outside his unit, Brakel and Evans stumbled into the hall to find their neighbours in a similar state of undress and as confused.

"Once we went into the hallway, in a minute or two, we could smell smoke," Brakel said Wednesday afternoon.

In pyjamas and slippers, Brakel said he looked out the window and was surprised to see fire.

"The place directly across was all orange. We figured we should probably leave," he said.

"It was on the roof, and it hadn't gotten inside the building yet, so we all went out. Once we got outside, it just sort of burst into flames."

Orangeville Fire department responded to the call of a fire at 22 Mill Street after midnight Thursday.

Five fire departments battled the blaze in the building that hosts both residential and commercial units.

Mill Street, between Armstrong and Broadway Street were cordoned off initially but later in the day while Mill Street remained closed, Broadway had reopened.

By mid-afternoon, bulldozers razed the building as the OPP took over the scene to begin its investigation.

"Based on the extensive amount of damage, they were pulling down all the rubble to make the area safer," said Mallory Cunnington, Orangeville's manager of communications.

The families who had been rushed from their homes in the middle of the night were being cared for by the Red Cross, said Orangeville Fire Chief Ron Morden.

"We are working on-site with our partners from Red Cross to ensure that all families who were impacted by the fire are supported with what they need," said Morden.

Brakel hadn't taken advantage of the Red Cross' support, he said. He had returned to the site during the day and collected a few items from the debris he recognized as his own, including a white milk jug and an air freshener.

"I guess I'm still in shock," he said. "And then I think this could have been worse. So I'm grateful."

Residents who require support can contact the Canadian Red Cross at 1-800-850-5090 or Dufferin County Social Services at 519-941-6991.