An elderly couple were living in the Podollan Inn Friday after their home on First Street SE was heavily damaged in a fire Wednesday, July 11.
The couple returned home about 3:30 p.m. to find smoke coming from their house.
When they looked inside, they saw smoke emanating from their 15-year-old dishwasher.
Their taxi driver immediately called 911 and firefighters from Hall #3 were there within minutes, quickly followed by firefighters from Hall #2.
“When crews arrived, the flames had grown quite a bit,” said assistant fire chief Jim Nickles. “They knocked it down but there was extensive fire and smoke damage inside the house.”
Nickles said that an investigation continues with an electrical inspector to assess if the dishwasher was the culprit.
Some 20 firefighters battled the blaze in 34-degree heat.
“It was a very warm day and quite hot in the fire, with zero visibility,” he said of the overheated smoky conditions. “When it’s like that, we cycle the crews through so they don’t spend too much time on the fire.”
As well, Nickles says firefighters’ blood pressure is checked to make sure they are not over-exerting themselves.
“If someone’s looking like they are, we don’t send them back on,” he says, noting an ambulance was available and was on scene to check on the firefighters. “It’s something we’re doing more and more.”
Emergency Social Services was also on hand and took the couple to the hotel.
Nickles says they were allowed in Thursday morning to pick up a few items.
Insurance and restoration reps are assessing the damage to see if the house can be repaired.