Fire prompts alarm warning (The Sun Times Posted By Jim Algie)

A working smoke alarm might have prevented serious injuries to a 58-year-old Owen Sound man who remains in hospital following a fire Sunday in his apartment.

An Ontario Fire Marshal’s investigator has determined that careless smoking caused the blaze.

“It’s just another example of the importance of a working smoke alarm,” fire prevention inspector Greg Nicol said Friday.

Firefighters have yet to identify the injured man and Nicol confirmed there is a fire department investigation into possible violations of the Fire Prevention and Protection Act.

Owen Sound Fire Chief Ed Nowak warned Thursday against disabling a smoke alarm.

An interview with the injured man confirmed he had butted a cigarette in an ashtray, then dumped the contents of the ash tray into a garbage container, Nowak’s statement said.

Evidence at the scene confirms the victim’s account, the chief added.

“Working smoke alarms on every level of your home give you the much needed time to escape when a fire occurs,” Nowak said.

A neighbour in the four-unit apartment building at 1173 2nd Ave. E. called in the alarm shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday. Firefighters found the injured man collapsed below a window in his smoke-filled apartment.

“The scenario would have been drastically different had he had a working smoke alarm,” Nicol said. “All indications are that the landlord had provided a smoke alarm and had provided a working smoke alarm.”

Fire department reports of the blaze indicate dense smoke in the apartment when firefighters arrived. Damage was contained to one apartment.

The circumstances are similar to another incident Tuesday just north of Owen Sound. In that case, Christopher Walczak, 57, suffered smoke inhalation in a midday blaze that gutted a 104-year-old house on West Bayshore Road, just north of Owen Sound city limits.

That fire is also under investigation and Inter Township Fire Chief Carl Linthorne declined comment Friday. However, he too underlined the need for operating smoke alarms.

“It’s all over and it’s unfortunate that with a $6 item people fail to keep them up to date,” Linthorne said.