A barbecue is believed to have been behind a $100,000 townhouse fire in southeast London.
Multiple 911 calls about the blaze on Meadowgate Boulevard near Commissioners Road East came in around 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Firefighters arrived on scene within four minutes of those calls to find thick black smoke and flames coming from a second floor balcony.
"The 911 calls indicated it was a structure fire with people trapped inside," said London Fire Department Platoon Chief Gary Mosburger. "So our initial concern was ensuring people were outside of the building."
Firefighters determined everyone had made it out safe, however, discovered several pets were still in the burning home. Those animals were rescued and did not require any additional care. The fire was extinguished relatively quickly, said Mosburger.
"It did result in some significant exterior damage and smoke migration throughout the home," he said.
Damage is estimated at $100,000.
The cause of the fire was determined to be related to barbecue cooking on the front porch.
"It is extremely important that you maintain contact with the barbecue when you are cooking or even heating it up. Leftover grease within the barbecue can very quickly catch on fire and if it's not attended to right away, a fire can very quickly get out of control," Mosburger warned. "In this case, the fire made extension to the home and created a significant amount of damage and put people in harm's way."
He recommends anyone barbecuing do so as far away from combustibles as possible and be attentive.
