The Penhold Fire Department has been kept busy responding to reports of smoke on the east side of Penhold.
Shortly after 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 25, Penhold fire crews responded to a report of smoke in a house on Heartland Crescent, just as they had days before on May 22, when the fire department responded to an apartment fire on Robinson Avenue after smoke was again reported.
“We had a busy week with fire emergencies,” said Penhold fire Chief Jim Pendergast. “It was good there were no injuries or major damage.”
At the seniors' apartment fire on 27 Robinson Avenue, the building's smoke alarm went off and other residents smelled smoke and pulled the manual alarm, then called 9-1-1. Ten residents were evacuated by the fire department to the Penhold Senior Drop-in Centre until cleared to return to their apartments.
“The residents did exactly what they were supposed to do,” said Pendergast. “Once we entered the apartment at approximately 9:26 p.m. they found a fire in the kitchen and extinguished it, remaining until 11 p.m. clearing the fire and checking for hot spots.”
He noted the cause of the fire was a pot left unattended on the stove while the occupant went to pick up a family member. Damage was estimated to be $750.
“In the case of Heartland Crescent, fire crews arrived on scene to find a single family home evacuated with the smoke alarm sounding,” said Pendergast. “Crews determined that overflowing toilet water had leaked into the floor and shorted out some electrical equipment causing the smoke. Fire crews shut off the power to the house, and with the help of Fortis, made sure the house was safe. The owners were advised to have an electrician check all the circuits before restoring power.”
Pendergast added the mother and two children residing at the home were not injured and had evacuated the house when the alarm sounded.
“We consider both cases to be success stories, with proper procedures and safety preparation in place,” said Pendergast. “The best chance of survival in any fire is having working safety devices like smoke alarms, and this goes to show that.”
He went on to say that both smoke alarms were replaced immediately with donated units stored in the fire engine.
