Welland blaze investigated by police and fire marshal
Mom and three children escape dangerous fire which started in car
A fire in Welland that apparently started in a vehicle before spreading to a nearby house and apartment building is considered suspicious and under investigation by Niagara police and the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office.
At approximately 12:30 a.m. Friday, officers were called to a home in the area of Duncan and Cozy streets following reports of a fire.
One officer entered the home and helped four occupants — three children and their mother — to safety, said Niagara Regional Police spokesperson Stephanie Sabourin.
No one was physically injured in the fire, she said Friday.
Acting fire Chief Adam Eckhart said it appears the fire was deliberately set in a car in the driveway, which then took a “heavy bite” out of the side of the nearby home.
The incident remains under investigation by detectives with the NRP’s
domestic violence unit.
Welland resident Phill Gladman was walking through the area at the time of the incident and says he saw a black, quad-cab truck, early 2000s
model, leaving the scene. He also said the truck had orange lights on its roof.
Sabourin said she could not provide
information about a suspect vehicle because the investigation is active and that detectives are looking into the circumstances surrounding the fire.
Eckhart estimated damage at up to $50,000, including to the vehicle, the home, and an apartment building next door that had to be evacuated and sustained heat damage to its exterior.
He said the children and their mother escaped the home unharmed, and that firefighters later went in to rescue a dog.
Neighbours reported “suspicious vehicles in the area,” said Eckhart on Friday.
Firefighters knocked down the fire quickly before it could penetrate the inside.
“Had it made its way into the building, it would have been a much more serious fire,” said Eckhart.
He said the gas levels in the car weren’t a major concern.
“The risk of vehicles exploding is relatively low,” he said, adding the incident could have been “much worse” if it did.
The fire marshal’s office was investigating the scene Friday afternoon.
Eckhart said the fire department encourages people who are in the area of active fire scenes to contact authorities first, and not try to act on their own, noting bystanders did keep their distance at the scene and didn’t attempt to enter the home.
“We prefer that if anyone identifies an emergency like that, they call 911,” he said.
Police ask anyone with information on the incident to contact investigators at 905 6884111, dial option 3, badge no. 9376.