CORNWALL – The city’s fire chief has a word of caution after an early morning house fire was started by a smoldering mosquito coil.
Emergency responders were called around 4:30 a.m. Thursday to the 800 block of Augustus Street for a porch on fire.
“It was a PIC mosquito ring that burnt through the deck. It was left on and it burnt through the deck. We were alerted early enough that we limited the damage to the deck and it was a small fire,” Pierre Voisine told Cornwall Newswatch.
The chief said this case should serve as a safety message for others.
“The message is, if you have to use some sort of burning equipment on your deck, remember to make sure that it’s fully extinguished by the time you leave and don’t leave it on your deck.”
There was moderate damage to the deck and an outbuilding, joined to the porch, but the fire didn’t make it inside the house.
“That’s the kind of thing that can turn into a big fire very quickly here unless it’s detected,” Voisine.
There’s no official word on any injuries, through paramedics were on scene.
A neighbour told CNW they saw an older woman being treated by paramedics, possibly for smoke inhalation, though that hasn’t been corroborated by authorities.