What could have been a tragedy was avoided this past Monday night, Family Day. The episode illustrated the value of living in a caring community like this one.
We may not be our brothers’ keeper, but it’s nice to know we can be our neighbours’ guardian... or they can be ours.
A call came in to the Castlegar Fire Department in the late afternoon. A residential smoke alarm had been triggered and had been sounding for about half an hour before a neighbour decided to phone the fire department.
Kudos to the caller who gave the address and unit number of the residence, and mentioned that no smoke was visible. Firefighters rushed to the scene and quickly began ventilating a very smokey kitchen. A pot on the stove had boiled dry... and a resident who had been sleeping soundly... in spite of the loud alarm was discovered.
Damage in this case was limited to minor smoke damage, but had a fire suddenly started in the apartment, the local members would have likely arrived in time to extinguish it.
The important thing to learn from this scenario is that it may well be a false alarm, but even so, it’s never a wrong move to pick up the phone and call the fire department.
If there’s the slightest indication of an emergency underway, the sooner a call is made, the better. The number is 911.
The Castlegar Fire Department members have a lot of hard earned skills – ready to be utilized at a moment’s notice.
Had that Family Day phone call come any later, or not at all, the aftermath may have been catastrophic.