Thunder Bay – NEWS – Thunder Bay Fire Rescue has shown their value over the past twenty-four hours. Platoon Chief John Kaplanis reports that at approximately 0130hrs tonight, Thunder Bay Fire & Rescue (TBFR) answered the call for a reported structure fire on Bethune Street.
This was the second fire for TBFR crews during a 24 hour shift as the same crews fought a fire at the corner of Northern Ave and Brodie Street North earlier in the day.
Fire crews arrived on the scene to find significant smoke and flame coming from a second story window at the rear side of the structure. Neighbors reported that many people were seen exiting the house when the fire began but it was unclear if anyone remained inside.
TBFR Incident Command ordered an offensive attack to begin on the exterior of the structure to battle the fire and contain it to the second floor.
Firefighting efforts were made more hazardous as hydro wires were down in the back yard of the property thus forcing fire fighters to stay back from them, therefore preventing them from accessing the fire at that location. An adjacent occupied residence was evacuated by firefighters and Thunder Bay Police on scene.
Once the electrical hazard was mitigated by Synergy North utility crews, firefighters were able to resume an aggressive fire attack and gain entry to the structure.
Firefighters searched the interior of the building but found no other occupants inside.
The fire was quickly knocked down thus preventing extension to the adjacent home that was located within just a few feet of the fire building. However firefighters worked for several hours to completely extinguish fire that was deeply seated in the walls and attic spaces of the wood frame structure.
There were no civilian or fire fighter injuries as a result of this fire. Fire damage to the structure was heavily concentrated to the second floor and roof area of the building. The scene is being held by police until TBFR can complete their investigation into the cause of the incident.
A total of 6 Pumpers, 2 aerial ladder trucks and a Command unit responded to the scene.
Platoon Chief
John Kaplanis
