Source: X | Twitter/@LdnOntFire | London Fire Department
A fire that started out small in the house on 263 Clarence Street later erupted into flames and smoke. On the night of Tuesday February 4, firefighters were called to the scene to fight the growing flames. No one was injured due to the incident, but a man and a woman living in the house have been displaced alongside a cat who also called the house its habitat. The home was empty during the emergency and neighbour Carl Collinson had to call 911.
“Originally, we were just inside and we kind of smelt smoke, kind of like someone having a campfire and we came outside to check it out and this whole front window was just black smoke coming out of it,” said Collinson.
“Immediately we saw the flames through the window. We called the Fire Department, and they did a pretty good job getting here pretty quick and put it out,” added Collinson.
The fire crew had to close off a large section of Horton Street to allow the firefighters to properly take care of the smoke and flames. Platoon Chief Manager of the London Fire Department Jamie Britton explains that this procedure is taken to keep all the civilians at a safe distance. It also helps facilitate the firefighting by giving the crew space to get the hoses connected without having to maneuver around other people.
“It’s always a good thing that when you have a small fire, even inside your home, because it does progress so quickly to call 911, get us rolling right away,” said Britton.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined although the most likely culprit cause of the incident is a poorly put out cigarette. Britton would like to remind the public to make sure they dispose of fire hazards properly.
“Even though that the cause of this fire is undetermined at this time, if you could just kind of remind everybody to make sure that all their smoking paraphernalia are actually out” he said.
Source: X | Twitter/@LdnOntFire
| London Fire Department
The fire left around $100, 000 in damages. Although it started out small and only inside of the house, neighbours and people passing by checked to make sure no one was inside by banging on windows and calling out for anyone who needed help. As smoke was coming out of the windows and filling the whole house, a lady opened the front door to be sure no one was inside. This however ended up feeding the flames more and that’s when the fire erupted.
“Yeah, it was originally scary. We didn’t know whether to stay or to kind of back off a bit. You never know what’s going to happen in those situations. So, once it started kind of getting bigger. To a point where it’s kind of scary, you heard the windows cracking. The fire department was right around the corner right here,” said Collinson.
