On the morning of Wednesday January 10th, the Saskatoon Fire Department responded to a fire in the basement of a home on the 300 block of Anderson Crescent.
The unique part of this fire was the cause, a battery powered toy.
“It was a small toy that had failed and started a fire and it was in close proximity to other combustibles and the fire grew from there,” said Fire Marshal Brian Conway.
Conway told media the toy was powered by alkaline batteries, but it was an electrical failure that sparked the fire. He isn’t sure if the fire was due to physical damage or any manufacturer’s defect, but he says there are some safety steps that can be taken to prevent incidents like these.
“If you do have a toy or any type of electronic equipment and you’re not using it, take the batteries out of it,” he said.
Fire damage is estimated at $150,000, and while it is still a significant amount, Conway says it could’ve been worse if it weren’t for one simple measure.
“It was contained mostly due to the doors being closed.”
“It shows the slight smoke around the outside of the door, but inside where the fire was it shows how the door held the smoke, fire, and components of combustion,” Conway explained.
Initially when fire crews arrived the occupant was outside the home with pets and there was no fire or smoke showing. The occupant told fire crews there were still cats inside.
The fire was brought under control less than half an hour after receiving the report, and the occupant and pets, including the cats were all accounted for.
“The cats were found, and they were unharmed, there were no injuries in this incident.”
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