Nanaimo Fire Rescue said a man suffered smoke inhalation after tending to a house fire himself, instead of evacuating right away. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

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Space heater fire costs Nanaimo man trip to hospital for smoke inhalation

Feb 1, 2022 | 11:02 AM

NANAIMO — A local homeowner had a close brush with a house fire over the weekend.

Multiple engines from Nanaimo Fire Rescue were called to the 4100 block of Verte Pl. around 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29 after a homeowner called in a fire in their house.

Troy Libbus, assistant fire chief, told NanaimoNewsNOW the man was alerted by smoke detectors going off and smoke floating through his home.

“It turned out to be a portable space heater, there was an article of clothing on it. The occupant that lived in the home was in another room, heard the smoke detector going off, entered the room where the fire was. He saw it and poured some water on it.”

The quick actions doused the flare up and prevented it from spreading further, but cost the man a trip to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital for smoke inhalation.

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The home itself sustained minor damage, mainly from smoke, with Nanaimo Fire Rescue able to ventilate the property when they arrived.

Libbus said the man would have been safer had he called 911, closed the door to the room and evacuated instead of trying to douse it himself.

“It can be challenging for homeowners to recognize the situation and they want to deal with it right away. In our case, Nanaimo Fire Rescue has the safety equipment and we respond quite quickly to mitigate the problem.”

Throwing water on electrical fires is also be very risky and can lead to further complications.

Common home extinguishers are geared towards dealing with kitchen and grease fires, not electrical ones.

“We usually use C02 to extinguish electrical fires, so we cause less damage and it doesn’t conduct electricity,” Libbus said.

Libbus added the fire is a good reminder for homeowners to check batteries in their smoke detectors and have a plan in place to evacuate if a fire breaks out in their home.

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