Two overnight fire calls keep Nelson Firefighters busy
By Nelson Daily Staff
The Nelson Fire Department night shift was kept busy Wednesday and into Thursday, responding to two fires call-outs in a span of five hours.
The first call came in shortly before 9 p.m. from the Kootenay Lake Hospital, prompting the department to send out a crew of even firefighters and two engines to deal with what could have been a major problem.
However, in the end smoke coming from the third floor of the facility proved to be from failed ballast from an older light fixture.
Nelson Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Mike Daloise would like to commend the staff at KLH for initiating an evacuation of the adjoining room and assisted with locating the problem.
Hours after getting back to the station crews responded to a second fire (1:21 a.m.) in a squatter’s cabin on fire just off of South Sheppard Drive.
Upon arrival of the first crew, the lone occupant of the cabin was waiting on the road and the cabin was fully involved with fire.
The first arriving crew’s primary objective was to ensure that everyone was out of the structure.
Emergency Health Services (EHS) was requested to assess the occupant, who did not require any additional treatment.
Fire suppression activities were hampered, as the location of the structure was approximately 300 feet up the hill, off of the road, with poor access.
As there are no fire hydrants in the area the water tender truck also responded to ensure that there was enough water to extinguish the fire.
The RCMP also responded and was able to provide assistance to the individual.
The fire is reported to have originated on the roof of the cabin. The recent wet weather prevented the fire from spreading to the surrounding forest.
In all, four firefighters responded to the incident with one fire engine, one tender truck, and one utility vehicle. No injuries were reported as a result of this incident.
The structure is a complete lost. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but not believed to be suspicious.
