Officials with the London Fire Department are once again urging residents to make sure their smoke alarms are working and that they don’t leave cooking unattended.
The reminder comes after a serious fire at a duplex on Adelaide St. South late yesterday afternoon.
Fire crews responded to the scene around 5 p.m. to the blaze at 66 Adelaide St. South. When they arrived, fire fighters could see heavy black smoke coming from the building. Crews made their way to the upstairs unit where more smoke was seen and found the tenant out on a deck. He directed the crew to the kitchen where the fire started.
Fire fighters were then quickly able to douse the flames.
Public Information Coordinator with the London Fire Department Rick Jefferson tells AM980 while this was a serious case, it could have been worse.
“There were no working smoke alarms at all in this duplex. Six occupants were there. If this fire had started in the middle of the night, the outcome could have been far, far different than it was,” Jefferson says. “As it was, nobody was hurt.”
Another disturbing part of the case was the fire was sparked by cooking on the stove, something that’s happened a lot lately.
“We’re also seeing a rash of cooking fires. People just don’t seem to be getting the messages,” Jefferson says. “We’ve got to have working smoke alarms in the house and you have to stay with your cooking.”
Damage caused by the blaze is estimated at $75,000.
