Editor’s note: This story has been updated from an earlier version to show the person in the house was a 25-year-old man and not a “boy” as referred to by the fire department.
CORNWALL – A man and several animals were able to escape unharmed after a basement fire in a home on First Street East.
The call came in at 11:26 a.m. Thursday for a home in the 600 block of First Street East near the intersection of Baldwin Avenue.
Firefighters were on the scene four minutes later and were able to quickly ventilate the house of smoke and had the fire under control within minutes.
“They (the firefighters) went to the basement, they seen the flames and put it out. There was a boy that was in the house at the time…he’s out,” Platoon Chief Luc Richer told Cornwall Newswatch.
Family members later corrected that statement, saying the person inside the home was a 25-year-old man – not a boy.
Two dogs were already out of the building and firefighters were able to rescue a cat that was also in the house when they entered, Richer said.
Paramedics were on scene as a precaution.
Richer said there is some smoke damage throughout the single-storey home but the fire was contained to the basement.
The fire prevention office will be investigating to determine the cause of the fire.
