Fire leaves woman in life-threatening condition
Crews also battled another blaze near Valens Lake
One woman was taken to hospital in life-threatening condition after being rescued from a central Hamilton house fire Wednesday afternoon.
Emergency crews responded to a home on Wilson Street, just off Victoria Avenue North and near J.C. Beemer Park, around 4:30 p.m. for reports of a structure fire.
The first of two-dozen firefighters on scene found a 2.5-storey home with heavy smoke and flames visible on all levels, said Chief Dave Cunliffe.
Search and rescue efforts saw one woman in her 40s removed from the home without vital signs, said Supt. Dave Thompson of the Hamilton Paramedic Service.
Life-saving measures were performed on the victim before she was taken to a burn trauma centre in critical condition. Thompson said the woman had a pulse en route to hospital.
Two cats were also removed from the single-family home and handed over to animal services, Cunliffe said.
Manaye Amnual watched the quick response by firefighters from his porch across the street, one-year-old baby in tow.
He said he called 911 as soon he realized the smell wafting through his home wasn’t because of his stove.
“When I saw it was off I came outside with my daughter and smoke was coming all out of there,” he said, pointing to the affected home.
The fire was extinguished within a few hours, leaving the home with shattered windows and holes throughout both the first and second floors, Cunliffe said. Ultimately, it caused more than $500,000 in damage. A cause hasn’t yet been identified.
The Office of the Fire Marshal has been contacted because a person was seriously injured.
The afternoon call came as several Hamilton fire crews — as well as those from six rural volunteer stations — doused another blaze more than 30 kilometres away.
Crews responded to a property on Regional Road 97, near Kirkwall Road just past Valens Lake Conservation Area, around 4:30 p.m. for reports of a large structure fire.
Cunliffe said the property was home to a pair of large industrial warehouses, each containing transport trucks.
One structure experienced a partial collapse. Damage in the affected warehouse is estimated to be north of $1 million.
Cunliffe said the suspected cause of the fire is welding work at the property.