'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
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.