Double-blaze night keeps firefighters busy
Smoke detectors credited with occupants’ early escape from blaze
Firefighters tackle a blaze early Tuesday morning on Regent Street in St. John’s. Firefighters were kept busy overnight Tuesday, dealing with two fires within four hours.
A second house fire in four hours in St. John’s extensively damaged an attached garage, damaged the home and displaced the four occupants who escaped the blaze.
St. John’s Regional Fire Department Platoon Chief Rick Dehann said when they arrived on the scene on Regent Street just after 2 a.m. Tuesday morning, there were flames coming from the front of the garage. The firefighters quickly put out the blaze, but not before the damage to the garage and the car inside had been done.
Siding on the upper level of the home was burned and melted, and smoke could be seen inside the home as they tried to make sure the fire didn’t spread any further. The firefighters also had to contend with cold temperatures that quickly froze water on the ground.
Dehann credited working smoke detectors for alerting the family to the danger, giving them enough time to escape the fire.
No information was available as to the cause of the fire.
Earlier Monday, a stubborn house fire on Colonial Street in St. John’s also kept firefighters busy.
The fire was reported just before 10 p.m. and when firefighters arrived on the scene they found smoke inside the home and fire in a rear add-on room.
The homeowner had already left the house and had been taken in by a neighbour a few doors away. Eastern Health paramedics examined him, but he was unharmed.