Emergency support services is offering assistance to several displaced residents after a complex residential building fire overnight in Victoria.

Fire crews were met with tall flames lapping from a top-floor balcony of a four-storey building when they were called out to the 600-block of Bay Street shortly after midnight on Feb. 14.

鈥淭his was an extremely complex fire that tested the skills of our firefighters and the leadership of our officers,鈥� the department said in a detailed account online.

An exterior attack allowed for firefighters to battle the blaze from inside the building with the ladder truck crew simultaneously starting fire suppression on the roof.

Having deployed every resource the Victoria Fire Department had, Battalion Chief Todd Harris requested mutual aid from Saanich Fire who sent an additional engine company.

鈥淎fter almost four hours, the fire was fully out. At this point, a call-in crew was brought in to stay with the scene overnight, and Victoria fire inspectors began the task of determining the cause and origin of the blaze,鈥� the social media post reads.

Multiple apartments were involved, and the entire building was evacuated.

Victoria Fire Department鈥檚 Emergency Support Services brought in Transit buses to accommodate displaced residents.

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