While the holidays are thought of as a time when people gather and keep warm indoors while they celebrate, the keeping warm part of the equation sometimes can result in problems.
And the Fort Frances Fire Department certainly can attest to that as firefighters responded to several calls in town over the past four days.
The most recent of these was a call to a residence on the 300 block of Third Street West at 5:27 a.m. today.
Capt. Hugh McKinnon of the Fort Frances Fire Department reported there was an electrical fire at the residence resulting from the “improper use of space heaters.”
He noted there was only minor damage from the fire and no injuries to the occupants.
The residents were alerted to the fire thanks to a smoke detector going off, said Capt. McKinnon, who added the incident should be a reminder to everyone to make sure their own smoke detectors are in working order.
In other incidents, firefighters were called to a residence on the 100 block of Sixth Street West around 3:30 a.m. on Christmas Day.
Capt. McKinnon noted the carbon monoxide (CO) detector in the home had gone off, alerting the residents to danger.
“One person was sent to hospital to be checked,” he said, adding that person was not found to be harmed.
He said the CO detector went off due to “an improperly maintained furnace.” “Everyone should have a CO alarm,” warned Capt. McKinnon.
On Christmas Eve, firefighters were called to a residence on the 400 block of Crowe Avenue after a fire was reported in the chimney there.
“The fire was caused because the chimney hadn’t been properly cleaned,” said Capt. McKinnon. “People should make sure they clean their chimneys.”
He noted firefighters were on the scene there for about two hours, making sure the fire was out and clearing the smoke. But Capt. McKinnon added no one was injured and the home was not damaged.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
