Family dog saved from $600,000 house fire in east London
A London man says he jumped his backyard fence to alert a woman and her granddaughter still inside a burning home on Tuesday evening.
Taryn Page lives behind 35 Tennyson St., near Hamilton Road. Page responded just as the flames began. He says he fought his way to the front door of the home and knocked frantically.
“I think she [the female property owner] had woken up. I was yelling before in her backyard,” Page explained.
After seeing the woman exit with her granddaughter safely, Page says the family dog who had escaped, somehow got back into the house.
For a few brief moments he went inside in an attempt to retrieve 'Parker.'
“I was crawling in the living room and the smoke was too thick,” said Page.
Taryn Page stands in his backyard with the fire damaged home of a neighbour over his shoulder, June 29, 2022. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)As he retreated, Duncan MacKinnon arrived at his mother’s home directly behind the fire.
“The back of the house was completely on fire, as I approached the fence line I could feel the heat. It was a scary scene,” said MacKinnon.
Realizing he could not get past the flames he took a video of the fire and captured the scene as fire crews arrived.
As firefighters worked to control the blaze, others worked out front to aid the family dog. 'Parker' was given oxygen by firefighters and is believed to be recovering.
Duncan McKinnon rushed to the scene of a fire at a home directly behind his mother’s property. Realizing he could not get past the flames to help, he took video just moments before firefighters arrived. June 29, 2022. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London) Neighbour Bill Landry, who lives across the street, witnessed the rescue and told CTV News, “The fireman carried him out, and they had him on the ground over there.”
Moments earlier, Landry was among the first to see the rising flames as he sat on his porch.
“Fire! A lot of it. Very heavy. They [the flames] were shooting up in the air,” he said.
Landry's description demonstrates why those who aided in the rescue are pleased everyone escaped, even though the damage is significant.
Fire officials estimate the loss at $600,000.
Bill Landry lives directly across from the scene of a house fire on Tennyson Street. June 29, 2022. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London) Looking over at the remains of the home, McKinnon, who did not know everyone had escaped safely until meeting with CTV London, expressed relief.
“That’s awesome! That’s really good news,” he said.
London police have deemed the fire suspicious and the Ontario Fire Marshal and London Fire Department investigators remain at the scene Wednesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.