Fire Chief Scott Lawson says call placed to Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal due to injuries
Port Colborne firefighters rescued a man from a fire in a three-storey, 12-unit apartment building Saturday afternoon.
Fire Chief Scott Lawsonsaid firefighters responded to Canalview Apartments at 637 King St. at 4 p.m. after someone reported seeing smoke coming from a basement apartment on the south side of the building.
“The first crew on scene saw flames coming from the window. During suppression, a resident was found and removed by firefighters. He was put in the care of (Niagara) EMS, and his condition is unknown at this time,” said the chief.
Wainfleet Fire and Emergency Services firefighters, with Chief Morgan Alcock and Deputy Chief Shawn Schutten, responded to the call to assist Port Colborne.
Lawson placed a call to the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal (OFM) and he was waiting to hear whether it was coming to investigate.
OFM is called in for large loss fires of $500,000 and greater, fires in multi-unit residential occupancies, and those that result in a fatality or serious injury requiring a person to be admitted as in-patient to a hospital.
The chief said Niagara Regional Police were guarding the scene until he heard from OFM.
“Red Cross (Niagara) is taking care of everyone displaced from the building by the fire.”
A Niagara Region Transit bus was sent to the fire call so residents had somewhere warm to wait while the Red Cross worked on accommodations.
Lawson said all residents were asked to leave the building as the fire service was unsure of what particulates were in the air due to the smoke affecting all floors.
Though an older building, the chief said it had a fire alarm system, pull stations and smoke detectors in units.
Damage was estimated at $300,000 to the apartment and the building due to smoke damage. The cause is under investigation.
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