Ontario’s London Fire Department had a busy Saturday night as firefighters put out three small blazes within two hours.
Platoon Chief Colin Shewell told 980 CFPL Sunday morning the first call came in around 10 p.m. Saturday night when crews were called to Horton Street for a kitchen fire.
He said two residents were assessed by paramedics but they declined transport or treatment after, and were allowed back in the house.
Damage is pegged at $20,000, according to the platoon chief.
Shewell said the second blaze happened on Jalna Boulevard.
The London Fire Department tweeted about it at 11 p.m. Saturday.
Shewell said it was also a kitchen fire, and residents were not displaced once crews contained the blaze.
Damage is estimated between $10,000 to $15,000, according to the platoon chief.
The third fire of the night was a pool house fire in the city’s northwest end, said Shewell.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Shewell said the structure was a complete loss.
“The good news is no one was displaced for the night.”
He adds it’s very uncommon for fire crews to battle three separate blazes in such a short time.
Shewell is reminding Londoners of the city’s open-air burning ban that was introduced at the beginning of the month.
“There is a ban on open-air burning effective April 1, 2020,” the City of London’s website stated.
The ban applies to “all solid fuel burning appliances (all wood burning appliances); including but not limited to, chimineas, fire tables, and fire pits.”
The platoon chief told 980 CFPL they had “two fire prevention officers that dealt with burn complaints all day,” and they dealt with more than “20 burn complaints.”
“We have a fire ban for your safety, and having a fire definitely stretches our resources, and we want to make sure everybody’s safe,” said Shewell.
According to the City of London’s website, when a complaint is received regarding open burning, a fire crew will respond to inspect the burning conditions.
“If you are found to be violating the terms of the Open Burning By-law, an order to extinguish and violation notice will be issued. A subsequent response that is found to be violating the by-law will result in a violation fee of $254.25. You may also be fined subject to fine amounts set out in the by-law,” the website stated.
The City says the open-air burning ban is a temporary measure to “assist with the strategies put in place during this time including physical distancing to help ‘flatten the curve.'”
According to the website, the city will lift the burning ban as soon as it is safe to do so.
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