A firefighter escaped injury despite falling through a floor while Central York Fire Services crews battled a blaze at a house in Newmarket yesterday.
The fire service responded to a basement fire at a house on Bergin Road at about 2:44 p.m. Jan. 23, with grey smoke visible. Crews made entry with hose lines for search, rescue and fire control, according to an incident report.
While they safely evacuated everyone inside the home, a firefighter fell through the floor to the basement of the home in the Yonge Street and Savage Road area.
“The firefighter has been located and removed from the building. He was assessed by paramedics and suffered no injuries,” the incident report said. “Crews continued to work to extinguish the fire and conduct cleanup operations.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but nobody was injured in the blaze.
CYFS deployed seven fire trucks and one command vehicle, with mutual aid initiated. Richmond Hill Fire and Emergency Services attended the scene with one crew and was on standby in case another call came in at the same time.
York Regional Police and York Region Paramedic Services also attended the scene.
CYFS said having a working smoke alarm and a home escape plan saves lives in an emergency. It added that the law requires homeowners to install working smoke alarms on every storey and to have working carbon monoxide detectors.
“Residential fires burn quickly — the quicker you are alerted to any smoke in the house, the more time you have to get occupants out to safety,” CYFS said. “When a fire occurs, the top priority is to get outside.”
CYFS said you should make and practise a home escape plan. For steps on how, visit cyfs.ca.