Men in shelter at Waterloo hotel displaced after $1M fire

Men staying in a shelter at The Inn of Waterloo were moved to Guelph overnight after a fire at the hotel Tuesday evening.

Emergency crews arrived at the hotel at 7:20 p.m. after receiving a report of an active fire on the second floor of the hotel, at475 King St.N.

One person was treated by emergency responders for smoke inhalation,police said.

Chris McEvoy, the region's manager of housing policy and homelessness prevention, said some of the men were taken to St. Mary's General Hospital as a precaution. Other men were taken by a Grand River Transit bus to a location in Guelph for the night.

"We are very thankful to the first responders who were able to respond very quickly and to the collaboration we have with service providers, health partners and other community agencies to respond to that emergency quickly," he said.

Waterloo Fire estimated the damages to be approximately $1 million due to fire, smoke and water damage. The hotel is currently uninhabitable and fire investigators were expected to be on scene throughout the day on Wednesday.

"At this time, the cause of the fire is believed to be accidental. The investigation remains ongoing," police saidin a newsrelease Wednesday morning.

130 men staying at shelter

House of Friendship, which was running the shelter at the hotel, saysthe focus now becomes helping the men in the coming weeks. There were 130 people staying at the shelter in the hotel and some were in self-isolation. Those men have been moved to St. Mary's General Hospital for now to continue quarantine.

The group says right now, they need to ensure "shelter participants and staff have the support they need" following the fire.

The group's executive director John Neufeldsaid he was amazed to see community partners and emergency responders come together following the fire to help. He thanked the hotel for allowing them to stay there since October and also people who have reached out to offer help.

"Likewise, I am incrediblyproud of our shelter staff who responded to this incident with outstanding compassion, leadership and nimble problem-solving," he said.