Fire officials in London, Ont., pegged damage at $100,000 after a blaze in an apartment on Kipps Lane that they believe was caused by improper disposal of a cigarette.
The resident in the unit where the fire began was taken to hospital with unknown injuries but Platoon Chief Colin Shewell told Global News he’s heard the person has since been released.
An alarm system alerted emergency personnel to the fire on the fourth floor of 750 Kipps Lane, just east of Adelaide Street North, was reported shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Crews said smoke and fire were visible from the road.
The entire building was evacuated and London police arranged for residents to shelter in LTC buses in order to keep warm. The blaze occurred amid a cold weather alert from the Middlesex-London Health Unit.
The resident in the unit where the fire originated and the resident in the unit below it, which sustained some water damage, are both unable to return at this time. The rest of the residents were allowed back inside.
Shewell said the tenant in the unit below has been connected with the Red Cross to coordinate accommodations. The person in the unit where the fire began has not requested assistance, to Shewell’s knowledge.
One firefighter was also injured during the incident after slipping on ice. The firefighter was taken to Victoria Hospital for observation and assessment and quickly released.
While Shewell praised the response to the fire, he also used the opportunity to remind people to give emergency personnel space to work, adding that a motorist ran over a fire hose and nearly struck a firefighter Tuesday night.
“A car ran over our hose and damaged our hose and actually affected our firefight initially,” he said.
“We were still able to fight the fire adequately, but it did take additional manpower and the car narrowly missed one of our firefighters.”
Shewell asks that when people see their trucks, they pay special attention to their surroundings in order to keep everyone safe.
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