A good emergency plan is key to safety, fire officials advise
Nov 04, 2009 - 04:30 AM
By Parvaneh Pessian
WHITBY -- Quick thinking under pressure and solid knowledge of fire safety measures helped ensure the successful rescue of two residents of a Whitby apartment building.
Building superintendent Harry de Waard is being commended for his rapid response after a blaze broke out in a unit of a six-storey building on Kathleen Street about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Mr. de Waard was alerted to the fire after hearing the alarm triggered from a heat detector activation.
"I went to the electrical room, where it shows what floor the smoke is coming from and saw that the second and third floors were lit up," he said.
"I thought well, smoke is going to rise so I just went to the second floor."
It's there he discovered water flowing from underneath the door of a unit and entered it using his master key.
After a quick search of the premises, Mr. de Waard managed to pull out the two occupants, a 63-year-old woman and her six-year-old grandson. Both were taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and were released later that day.
"He knew what his building's fire safety plan was and knew what to do when the fire alarm activated," said public education officer for Whitby fire Shawna Coulter, praising Mr. de Waard's efficient emergency plan.
"After ensuring the fire department was enroute and identifying the immediate risk to the lives of the two people, he removed them from the dangerous smoke-filled confines of the apartment."
Four pumper trucks, one aerial platform fire truck and 21 firefighters responded to the blaze and helped evacuate more than 100 tenants from the building's 120 units.
Damage is estimated at $80,000 and the cause has been determined as careless use of candles.
"Fire safety plans are mandatory for businesses and apartment buildings, however we do encourage everyone to have a home escape plan with their family and to design and practise it in advance so they know what to do should a fire occur," Ms. Coulter added.
Whitby fire officials visited the building on Monday to deliver fire safety information to the tenants and ensure there was a working smoke alarm in each unit.
"We wanted to take this opportunity to not only discuss fire safety with the residents but also stress the importance of working smoke alarms and how vital they are to providing an early warning sign," said chief fire prevention officer Dave Speed.
Landlords, superintendents and tenants can obtain more information about fire safety plans by contacting Whitby Fire and Emergency Services at 905-668-3312 or www.whitby.ca/fire.
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