London fire officials and police are probing the cause of a pair of suspicious fires less than 12 hours apart that sent two people to hospital.
The first blaze happened around 9 p.m. on Wednesday at a house at 12 Tallwood Rd., just east of Richmond Street. Firefighters arrived on scene to find one person on the front lawn. That person was taken to hospital due to smoke inhalation. A firefighter was also hurt while battling the blaze, but did not require hospitalization.
"It was a very hot fire. One of our firefighters had a small burn to his wrist area. It was very minor and was assessed at the scene by paramedics," said Platoon Chief Colin Shewell.
Fire crews were able to extinguish the fire quickly.
"Damage is quite extensive," said Shewell. "It is probably well over $150,000 in damage. It was to the area over top of the garage. Crews did a fantastic job of knocking it down and containing it to that area of the house."
The blaze has been deemed suspicious and the Ontario Fire Marshal has been notified.
Nearly nine hours later at around 6:20 a.m. on Thursday, firefighters were called to a blaze at the Salvation Army's Centre of Hope on Wellington Street.
The fire, which was contained to a third floor apartment, forced the evacuation of the downtown facility. When fire crews arrived, staff and London police were using fire extinguishers to try to fight the fire. Firefighters took over and doused the blaze.
"Damage is quite extensive to the one unit and as you can imagine in an apartment setting with the door being open, smoke migrating out it did migrate to some of the other apartments on the same floor," said Shewell. "We are doing an inspection and if need be the other residents will be found shelter through management at the Centre of Hope and the City of London emergency management."
A staff member was taken to hospital with smoke inhalation. No other injuries were reported and the residents have since been allowed back inside the building.
The fire is considered suspicious and one person has been taken into custody.
