No one was injured in two recent separate fires that required evacuating a commercial building and a apartment.
On Feb. 7, the fire alarm went off in a commercial building located in the 1000 block of Shoppers Row.
As the occupants were evacuating the building, they called 911 to report that heavy black smoke was coming out of a vent at the rear of the building.
Fire crews quickly determined a fire was burning in the restaurant kitchen, and firefighters extinguished the cooking oil fire using dry chemical extinguishers.
“The fire protection system installed in the kitchen did its job by limiting the spread of fire until fire crews arrived,” said Fire Chief Ian Baikie. “The system also automatically alerted people in the building by activating the fire alarm.”
On Monday, fire crews responded to an alarm in an apartment located in the 300 block of Dogwood Street. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze located in the bedroom of a third-storey apartment..
“Firefighters assisted the lone occupant to safety outside the apartment,” says Chief Baikie. “She was not injured, however, emergency social services resources were called in to provide temporary housing for the woman and her husband.”
Fire investigators have determined that the cause of both fires was accidental.
“The occupants of both buildings are credited with evacuating the premises when fire alarm sounded,” Baikie added.
