'I woke up and my whole house was lit up': Neighbour helps rescue family from Windsor house fire
A Windsor resident is being hailed a hero after alerting a young family with a baby that their house was on fire early Saturday morning.
Kamar Francis said he abruptly woke up just after 2 a.m. to see flames across the street on Grove Avenue near Church Street, and ran outside to alert neighbours.
“I woke up and my whole house was lit up as if I had all my lights on,” Francis explained. “I came out and I realized the garage was on fire. So I flew out of the house wearing next to nothing. I had to get a couple that lives there with a young baby.”
According to Francis, the family managed to get out of their home without injury before he ran to an adjacent property to alert another elderly neighbour.
“The fire was escalating quite quickly, like when I just came at the house it was only the shed. Within, I would say three to four minutes, the entire side of that gentleman's house was in flames,” he explained.
Fire crews responded to an overnight house fire in the 400 block of Church Street in Windsor, Ont. on Saturday, June 10, 2023. (Source: OnLocation/Twitter)
“I had to get whatever neighbour I could that was close by out and we all kind of just rallied together trying to get everyone out safely and it was just extremely unfortunate.”
Windsor fire officials confirm there were no injuries as a result of the blaze.
“I was one of the first ones out here and I think if anybody else was out here they would have done the same thing. It was a moment where you're in shock but you just react,” Francis told CTV News.
Tannis Bence lives nearby and is one of those hailing Francis a hero.
“It’s a lot first thing in the morning and at any time of the day a fire is a lot to handle. I think you go into fight or flight and so again, it’s just so great that we have a strong supportive neighbourhood here that we all care and love each other here.“
“It’s very unfortunate what happened and that other people’s properties got damaged in the process of this,” Bence told CTV News.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire and an investigator attended the scene.
“Unfortunately the garage fire spread to the rear of the house on Grove causing extensive damage on the rear of the house and then it got into the attic,” Windsor Fire prevention officer Mike Coste said.
“With the structure on Church, the structure on Grove and with the fully involved garage fire, and the garage is completely gone, that’s where we have damage amount of over $350,000 roughly.”
The cause of the fire is undetermined.
“It’s undetermined because we’re not able to pinpoint 100 per cent,” Coste explained. “We may have an idea of how it starts, but unless we can 100 per cent say what it is, we have to list it as undetermined.”
“The garage was completely consumed, so there was very little evidence left. There was no roof left, there was no frame left. There’s no structure left no walls left so the evidence if there was any evidence in there would be consumed in the fire.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
BREAKING London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.