Quick action by homeowners and neighbours helped stop a fire in Niagara-on-the-Lake last Friday from spreading to nearby houses.
A hedge and part of a fence were burned, resulting in about $1,000 of damage, the town said. No one was injured.
The cause remains undetermined and the fire marshal was not involved.
NOTL Fire and Emergency Services were dispatched at 2:41 p.m. on Oct. 3 to the area of 1853 Four Mile Creek Rd. after a caller reported the fire was getting close to a home.
The call was briefly upgraded to a structure fire, prompting six fire trucks to respond. Only two arrived, with nine firefighters in total, before the call was downgraded.
When crews arrived, they found a hedge and part of a fence on fire, “with no extension to any building,” said the town’s communications co-ordinator, Marah Minor.
Nearby homeowners and bystanders calmed the fire with a garden hose prior to crews arriving, which “put most of the fire out,” Minor said. No mutual aid was needed.
Crews made sure the hedge was cleared and left about 40 minutes later, at 3:20 p.m.
Minor said using a garden hose in this case “had a positive impact.”
For small fires, she said, residents who are trained and can act safely with proper equipment may reasonably attempt to extinguish flames, but during structure fires, “the town always recommends that residents get to their designated safe meeting point.”
Minor reminds residents to ensure their smoke and CO alarms are working and that their families have a home escape plan and a safe meeting place.
