A cigarette is the likely cause of a small fire that broke out in a south-end bachelor suite and sent one woman to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital for burns.
The fire happened in an apartment on the 500 block of Albert Street on Monday at about 4 a.m. when the building’s smoke detector triggered an alarm alerting Nanaimo Fire Rescue.
Alan Millbank, Nanaimo Fire Rescue fire prevention officer, said the fire appeared to have started after the victim’s cigarette dropped into the couch after she fell asleep.
The apartment did not have a working smoke alarm.
“The tenant’s girlfriend was injured from burns due to, probably, from smoking, in her sleep and we were alerted by fire alarm,” Millbank said. “Crews arrived to a partially extinguished blanket and a sofa, which they put out.”
Millbank said the building alarm system was triggered by its smoke detection system, but said the woman would have been alerted much sooner and likely avoided being burned if the apartment had its own working smoke alarm.
“Most apartments have smoke detectors, but they alert the entire building, so they’re part of a system that alerts the fire department,” Millbank said. “A smoke alarm is a local device. They’re usually fairly sensitive and set off much quicker … Crews installed a working smoke alarm afterwards.”
The woman was treated in hospital for burns and the occupants were temporarily displaced by the fire.
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