Mother and child escape London townhome fire

A witness says they heard a loud boom before noticing a woman and a small child escape a townhome fire in London, Ont. Friday.

Fire crews were called to a complex at 550 Sarnia Road, in the city’s west end, around 8:00 am.

Once on scene, they noted smoke and fire coming from multiple second floor windows and the soffit along the side of the unit.

The tenants were already outside after hearing a smoke alarm.

District Chief Kevin Culbertson says crews from five responding engines and rescue units were able to bring the blaze under control within a half-hour.

“We hit it from the outside initially because we knew the occupants were out,” he said.

Neighbour Brittany Charles witnessed the early moments of the fire. She tells CTV News she was on the second floor of her unit, facing the fire scene when a noise alerted her.

“I heard a loud explosion, like a boom. And when I looked through the window, I saw my neighbour leaning on the floor with a baby tucked in her arms,” said Charles.

Charles says she called out to the woman, who yelled back, “fire, fire, fire!” and Charles immediately called 9-1-1.

Viewer video provided to CTV News by Philip Johnson shows arriving firefighters rushing to hit the second floor with fire hoses.

Culbertson acknowledges smoke alarms were sounding and may have played a part in the escape of the mother and child.

“It could have been much worse,” he said. “Without the smoke alarms here, we may have been having to take people out of the building, rather than arrive when they were already out.”

Culbertson says damage to the second floor is extensive.

Meanwhile, a London Fire Department investigation team arrived at the scene about 90 minutes after the blaze.

There is no known cause for the fire at this time.