Rescues in Welland, Ontario
WELLAND – Two people were taken to hospital Monday night, at least one with serious injuries, after a fire broke out at a Scholfield Ave. home.
Welland Fire and Emergency Services, Niagara Regional Police and Niagara EMS were called to the scene of a working fire at 153 Scholfield Ave. at about 8 p.m.
Four pumpers, a rescue truck and an aerial truck were dispatched to the scene.
One of the home’s occupants, who firefighters initially had difficulty locating, did not have vital signs when he was found, said Welland fire Chief Denys Prevost.
CPR was performed on the scene by paramedics and the male was transported to Welland hospital. A second person was also taken to hospital, though the extent of their injuries has not been confirmed.
Prevost was unable to confirm the number of occupants in the home at the time of the fire, but said he believed there were more than two.
“It wasn’t a particularly large fire,” he said, with few signs of damage seen from outside the home. “There was a lot of smoke inside, but not a lot outside.”
He credited Welland’s firefighters for approaching the fire “aggressively” and putting it out “in minutes.”
The fire “appeared to be completely upstairs” in the one-and-a-half story building, he said.
A cause has not yet been determined.
The Office of the Fire Marshal will be investigating and was expected to attend the scene Monday night. The OFM is called in when a fire causes significant dollar loss, a fatality or significant injury or when there is high public interest.
Investigation inside the home had not yet begun late Monday, but witnesses were being interviewed to gather information, Prevost said.
The building was to remain under guard over night, he added, and would not be released until investigation into the incident was complete.
Scholfield, between Hagar St. and Welland St. was temporarily closed, but reopened shortly before 11 p.m
About Author
