Guelph firefighters urge vigilance after four house fires in three days
After four house fires in three days, Guelph firefighters staged a news conference Thursday in front of the burned-out remnants of a Guelph townhouse to advise the public to take fire safety seriously.
“I’m asking adults to wake up and take responsibility,” said Guelph fire Chief Brian Arnold against the boarded up windows of the Edinburgh Road residence in which two women, as yet unnamed, lost their lives when flames erupted early Monday.
“We teach our children in schools and community organizations about fire safety and smoke alarms. But our children do not drive to the hardware store. Our children do not make that smoke alarm or CO alarm purchase. And our children are not installing and testing these alarms. Our children are vulnerable and they rely on adults.”
While the Edinburgh residence had no smoke alarm, the other three houses — which all avoided fatalities — did.
“In a time when many have to choose between housing and feeding their families, it’s easy to forget about or to choose not to buy an alarm and install it,” said Arnold, stressing the importance of smoke alarms on every level and an established home escape plan.
“Call the fire department. We will help you. We want you to be safe.”
Four house fires in three days is “truly unprecedented,” he added, noting “We’ve never seen this before in our careers. It’s very taxing on our resources, but most importantly on our personnel.
“They’re exposed to traumatic events that could be carried with them throughout the rest of their lives. While we choose to serve, we are human beings and cannot avoid the moral injury.”
The first fire, in which two women died of their injuries, happened Monday around 12:40 a.m. at 383 Edinburgh Rd. S. Guelph firefighters arrived to find heavy fire and smoke, with two occupants selfevacuated and two others reported to be still inside.
After firefighters fought their way to the second floor “under extremely dangerous conditions,” as Arnold noted previously, one woman was pronounced dead on scene, while the other later succumbed to her injuries.
The second fire, in which two occupants escaped early, happened at 365 West Acres Drive before 7 p.m. on Monday, with damage to the garage and second floor. No injuries were reported. The third fire happened at 57 Kirkland St. Tuesday at 12:53 a.m.
In that incident, fire officials said one person self-evacuated and was taken to Hamilton General Hospital suffering from burns and smoke inhalation. There has been no update on their condition.
The fourth fire happened Wednesday afternoon at a northend Guelph residence, when a vehicle in a garage caught on fire, spread to the house and caused “substantial” damage.
There were no reported injuries. All fires are still under investigation, their causes as yet undetermined, but Arnold and Ontario Fire Marshal Jon Pegg say that, to date, none have been deemed suspicious.
“It goes in ebbs and flows, right across the province,” said Pegg, noting “smoke alarms are the law. You must have them on every story of your home.”
“Some municipalities could go years without a fire and then they’ll have four or five. What we know is that the nature of fires or their origin often changes. It could be cooking, it could be mechanical failure.
“The part that’s concerning is the majority of fatal fires have no working smoke alarms. That’s really why we’re here today.”
While there’s no link between fires, Arnold says there are some similarities.
“We do have data that backs up time of day and that fire fatalities are happening in the evening while people are home, sleeping,” he noted.
“That again stresses the importance of working smoke alarms on every level and outside of the sleeping area.”
Education is key, he and Pegg agreed.
“It’s probably going to be impossible to have zero fires,” noted Pegg.
“We know human error exists. You forget you’ve got a pot on the stove. Things fail. People put clothing close to a space heater. There’s a multitude of reasons, so obviously practicing good fire prevention is key.
“But preparing yourself for when that fails by having working smoke alarms and a home escape plan, is what’s going to save you in your home.”
Fire prevention resources are available through the Guelph Fire Department at guelph.ca/living/ emergency-services/fire-service/ and the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office ontario.ca/page/office-firemarshal.