Quick thinking kept a morning fire from tearing through an apartment complex on Albert Street June 24.
The Windsor Fire Department was called to extinguish a stove fire in an apartment at 156 Albert Street around 10:30 a.m. The apartment is part of a large building housing two to three rental units.
“Basically what had happened was the residents of the apartment had put a kettle on the stove and… it was an electric kettle as opposed to a boiling kettle for the top of the heating element, and it caught the bottom of the kettle on fire,” Deputy Chief Jamie Juteau explained at the scene.
“When I arrived they had heavy smoke coming out of the second floor window.”
Juteau says the department was able to extinguish the fire with relative ease before it spread because of the fast response time, and some quick thinking on the part of the residents.
“Luckily the homeowners were very smart; they actually hit it with a fire extinguisher but knew when to get out when they were in over their heads.”
Paramedics were on site to evaluate the tenants as a precautionary measure. The stove bore the brunt of the damage, Juteau noted.
“It worked out the best as it possibly would have.”
Onlookers gathered at the five-way intersection where Albert Street connects with Grey Street and Clifton Avenue to sneak a peak of the action as firefighters situated three engines for duty in the event the flames spread.
Juteau says one factor that made the call complicated was the civic number was hard to spot in a fast-moving vehicle. He says it is imperative homeowners take the time to ensure their house number is clearly visible to first responders in the event of an emergency.
“Civic numbers – get them up.”
