Thursday, February 19, 2015

3 CANADIAN FIREFIGHTERS INJURED MAKING RESCUE AT TRAILER FIRE IN SOUTH WINDSOR, ONTARIO, CANADA



 
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2015  

SOUTH WINDSOR, ONTARIO, CANADA

A woman, her two young children and three firefighters were injured early Tuesday when flames tore through a home in a South Windsor trailer park.  Windsor Fire and Rescue Services received the call around 2:40 a.m. about a fire at 6 Marlin Ct. in Countryside Village.
Deputy Fire Chief Brian McLaughlin said the home was “heavily involved” with flames when crews arrived. Firefighters found a woman and her two young children huddled in a bedroom at the back of the trailer.

The woman, suffering from smoke inhalation, was initially in critical condition. McLaughlin said later Tuesday morning she had improved and was stable condition. She remains in the intensive care unit. The children are being treated for minor smoke inhalation and first degree burns to their legs. McLaughlin said he didn’t know the exact ages of the children, but said they are around two or three years old.

“During the fire fight we also had three firefighters injured,” McLaughlin said Tuesday morning. “One of them is still in hospital at this moment in time for a minor injury.”

The firefighter still in hospital suffered a leg injury. McLaughlin said they were waiting X-rays but the injury didn’t seem to be major. A second firefighter was treated for exposure to heat. The third firefighter suffered a minor injury in a slip and fall.

“With the weather and the amount of water being poured, it becomes problematic when firefighting because it freezes almost instantaneously when it hits the ground,” said McLaughlin. “And because we use large quantities of water it becomes an ice rink rather quickly, so a lot of the injuries can occur from slips and falls.”

The Ontario Fire Marshal’s office will be investigating to determine the cause of the fire. An estimate on the cost of damage was also not available. But McLaughlin said the destruction was extensive.

“It was fairly well advanced,” he said of the fire. “It was initiated in the east side of the structure then it spread rather quickly because of the type of the structure. There’s not a lot of fire separation in these types of structures. So once a fire gets a good hold it spreads very rapidly.”

He said he didn’t know if the trailer had working smoke alarms. The fire department was there on May 14 for a smoke alarm giveaway program, but they weren’t able to get inside.

http://blogs.windsorstar.com/news/three-taken-to-hospital-in-south-windsor-trailer-park-blaze