WINDSOR -- More than 200 residents will not be able to stay in their homes in Windsor due to a fire.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has called for a complete evacuation of Westcourt Place at Goyeau Street and Chatham Street East building on Chatham Street due to lack of power, heat and water.

Many residents of the 21-story office building left voluntarily before 7 a.m. Tuesday due to a car fire in the underground parking garage.

“I woke up in the morning there was no power and then at 6:45 I started to like, somebody started to knock on my door,” One resident tells CTV News. “So that’s when I was like, (it’s) really serious.”

Tatel Panait, another building tenant, says he was scared when he opened his apartment door.

“We saw the hallways, the whole hallway totally cloudy,” says Panait. “We couldn’t' see actually absolutely nothing.”

His young son, Ferdinand, also admits he was scared as they ran down the hall.

“I thought that the smoke was going to go everywhere. I couldn't see."

Three residents and two firefighters were taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

The City of Windsor and Red Cross set up a temporary reception centre at 400 City Hall Square West for about 45 residents.

ENWIN crews are working on restoring power, but it is unlikely to be restored and inspected Tuesday evening so fire fighters are moving door-to-door evacuating the building.

The first option of all residents is to find temporary accommodations with family or friends.

For those who can’t make their own arrangements, the City and Red Cross are setting up a reception centre with cots and other supplies at the WFCU Centre.

Residents are encouraged to come to 400 City Hall Square West to register and then they will be transported by transit bus to the WFCU Centre for the night.

No word on how long the building will be closed.

ENWIN spokesperson Barbra Pierce Marshall says they turned off the power to a transformer in the building, which affects 31 other customers on Chatham Street, Pitt Street and Ouellette Avenue.

The Office of the Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of the blaze.