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Firefighters busy on New Year’s Eve

Whistler firefighters spent New Year's Eve fighting a blaze at an apartment complex in Bayshores. The fire department received the call to 2222 Bradywine Way around 10:45 p.m. on Monday night.

Whistler firefighters spent New Year's Eve fighting a blaze at an apartment complex in Bayshores.

The fire department received the call to 2222 Bradywine Way around 10:45 p.m. on Monday night.

When they arrived on the scene there were flames roaring out of the second and third floor windows of the building, said Fire Chief Bruce Hall.

"There were reports to the fire department that people were jumping off the second floor," said Hall.

He said there were over 100 people at the scene but he did not know if they were all attending a party at that address.

"Given the numbers that may have been there I think they were very fortunate to get out without any injuries," said Hall.

It took 27 firefighters about 30 minutes put out the blaze. They then remained on the scene for roughly another three hours performing a salvage and overhaul of the area to ensure that the fire was out completely.

"I'm pleased to say that the firefighters did a great job and contained it to the one suite," said Hall.

The building is a three-story complex containing four apartments. The fire broke out in two-story apartment on the second and third flood of the building.

Hall said the second floor has been completely destroyed while the third floor has mainly heat and smoke damage.

While the cause of the fire is still unknown, Hall said there was a sauna in the apartment that was being used as a storage area.

"People should ensure that if they are using the sauna as a storage area that the heater is disconnected in case someone turns it on accidentally," he cautioned. "It's one of the things that we are looking at in the incident but we don't know for sure."

Hall said the apartment has been completely gutted by the fire and although the integral part of the building structure is still solid, the inside will have to be rebuilt.

He did not know at this point in the investigation how much damage had been done in terms of a dollar amount.

"At this stage the fire is under investigation but it's not considered suspicious," he said.

While the Whistler firefighters were at the scene of the fire, the Garibaldi Fire Department covered the Whistler area and responded to four other calls, including one medical call.