Forced to search a home without the protection of a charged hose, firefighters carried two occupants to safety.
Charlie Gillies The London Free Press
The lack of staff that ed to the shutdown of a fire truck could have resulted in the deaths of two people and several firefighters who entered a burning home, a London chief says.
“A couple more minutes and there would have been fatalities,” said Peter Christie, chief of Firehall 2 at 1101 Florence St. “So far, we’ve been lucky, but sooner or later our luck is going to run out.”
Christie made the comments after a recue team from Firehall 2 searched nervously without the protection of a charged hose – hose filled with water under pressure – at a Sunday morning blaze.
Firefighters from Firehall 10 had already entered the 51 Wexford Ave. house to look for occupants and came dangerously close to running out of water, he said. Their own engine from the firehall at 2125 Trafalgar St. was kept busy pumping water onto the flames.
The pumper at Firehall 2, which normally would have backed up Firehall 10, was out of commission because of cuts to firefighters’ overtime – there weren’t enough workers to run it, Christie said.
That forced Christie to call in a truck from Firehall 7 at 1192 Highbury Ave. – several kilometres farther away than the pumper from Firehall 2 would have had to travel.
The truck took about 10 minutes to reach the scene, arriving just as the unprotected firefighters from Firehall 2 found two people sleeping in a basement recreation room.
Scott Noxell and Cindy Everast, both 22, were given oxygen at the scene and taken to St. Joseph’s hospital for treatment.
At Risk:
Firefighters who entered the house said they didn’t immediately find the pair, Because of the heat and because they didn’t have protection. Christie said that had only a couple more minutes before they would have been forced to abandon their search or continue at grave risk.
It’s part of our basic training not to attempt a rescue in a fire unless you have a charged hose in your hand,” said Ken Gaskin, the firefighter who carried Everast out of the house, “But we’re being put in the situation where we don’t have one quite a bit lately.”
The controversial overtime cuts – tailored to save some of the $2 million London spent last year in extra wages for firefighters to charge the city is putting them and everyone in London at risk.
Regular shutdowns:
City officials say they will fill the gap with new staff. Meanwhile, engines have been shut down throughout the city on a regular basis in the last six weeks, firefighters say.
Before the overtime cuts, the engine response time averaged 3.5 minutes But in recent weeks, rescue teams have waited up to 5 minutes at fire scenes for trucks to come from other station, Gaskin said.
“It’ usually only three or four minutes, but that can make a big difference if there are people inside.” The Firehall 2 pumper has sat isle through every shift since July 14, Gaskin said. Three fire fighters who recently joined the crew haven’t been enough to keep the truck in service.
Neither Chief Fitzgerald nor Deputy Chief Gary Weese could be reached for comment late Monday.
Meanwhile, the pair taken to hospital after Sunday’s fire appeared to have suffered only minor smoke inhalation, Christie said.
“They were pretty groggy (from the smoke) when we got the out, But I think they’re going to be alright.”
Before firefighters arrived, London police Constable Isabel Dos Santos tried to enter the front door, but was overcome by heat.
Fire inspector John Marshall is investigating. He estimates damage – mostly to the kitchen area – at $50,000.
Forced to search a home without the protection of a charged hose, firefighters carried two occupants to safety.
Charlie Gillies The London Free Press
The lack of staff that ed to the shutdown of a fire truck could have resulted in the deaths of two people and several firefighters who entered a burning home, a London chief says.
“A couple more minutes and there would have been fatalities,” said Peter Christie, chief of Firehall 2 at 1101 Florence St. “So far, we’ve been lucky, but sooner or later our luck is going to run out.”
Christie made the comments after a recue team from Firehall 2 searched nervously without the protection of a charged hose – hose filled with water under pressure – at a Sunday morning blaze.
Firefighters from Firehall 10 had already entered the 51 Wexford Ave. house to look for occupants and came dangerously close to running out of water, he said. Their own engine from the firehall at 2125 Trafalgar St. was kept busy pumping water onto the flames.
The pumper at Firehall 2, which normally would have backed up Firehall 10, was out of commission because of cuts to firefighters’ overtime – there weren’t enough workers to run it, Christie said.
That forced Christie to call in a truck from Firehall 7 at 1192 Highbury Ave. – several kilometres farther away than the pumper from Firehall 2 would have had to travel.
The truck took about 10 minutes to reach the scene, arriving just as the unprotected firefighters from Firehall 2 found two people sleeping in a basement recreation room.
Scott Noxell and Cindy Everast, both 22, were given oxygen at the scene and taken to St. Joseph’s hospital for treatment.
At Risk:
Firefighters who entered the house said they didn’t immediately find the pair, Because of the heat and because they didn’t have protection. Christie said that had only a couple more minutes before they would have been forced to abandon their search or continue at grave risk.
It’s part of our basic training not to attempt a rescue in a fire unless you have a charged hose in your hand,” said Ken Gaskin, the firefighter who carried Everast out of the house, “But we’re being put in the situation where we don’t have one quite a bit lately.”
The controversial overtime cuts – tailored to save some of the $2 million London spent last year in extra wages for firefighters to charge the city is putting them and everyone in London at risk.
Regular shutdowns:
City officials say they will fill the gap with new staff. Meanwhile, engines have been shut down throughout the city on a regular basis in the last six weeks, firefighters say.
Before the overtime cuts, the engine response time averaged 3.5 minutes But in recent weeks, rescue teams have waited up to 5 minutes at fire scenes for trucks to come from other station, Gaskin said.
“It’ usually only three or four minutes, but that can make a big difference if there are people inside.” The Firehall 2 pumper has sat isle through every shift since July 14, Gaskin said. Three fire fighters who recently joined the crew haven’t been enough to keep the truck in service.
Neither Chief Fitzgerald nor Deputy Chief Gary Weese could be reached for comment late Monday.
Meanwhile, the pair taken to hospital after Sunday’s fire appeared to have suffered only minor smoke inhalation, Christie said.
“They were pretty groggy (from the smoke) when we got the out, But I think they’re going to be alright.”
Before firefighters arrived, London police Constable Isabel Dos Santos tried to enter the front door, but was overcome by heat.
Fire inspector John Marshall is investigating. He estimates damage – mostly to the kitchen area – at $50,000.
