'He's Amazing': Neighbour gets three families out of burning homes
A man is credited with awakening the sleeping residents of three homes impacted by a fire.
The blaze broke out at 3:15 a.m. Tuesday in a large townhome complex located at 700 Osgoode Dr.
Ange Senese tells CTV News London he had just awoken to let his dog out when suddenly he heard a noise.
“I heard like bang, bang, bang.”
Senese turned around and saw fire shooting from a neighbour's townhome unit across the street.
Ange Senese stands in front of townhomes damaged by fire in London, Ont., Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)
Ange Senese stands in front of townhomes damaged by fire in London, Ont., Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)
He says he then ran quickly ran back into his home and yelled to his mother, Michelle Senese, to call the fire department.
“My son came into the house and yelled, ‘Mom, mom, call 911!” she says.
As Michelle did that, Senese ran first to unit 98. He says he banged twice and was about to kick the door when a woman holding a baby answered.
He charged in to help get others out and encountered a man on the second floor.
“He was getting water in a bucket to throw it on the fire and I just said, ‘It’s too late, we have to get out of here now!’”
In the end, Senese helped get a man, woman, and two children safely out.
He then ran next door to unit 100.
Through a slightly open door, he ran through the smoke and determined there was nobody inside.
But in actual fact, the four people there were - at the same time - escaping out another door.
One, Czeslaw Jodlowski, says he awoke to the panic of banging and smoke.
“About three o’clock in the morning, we don’t know what’s happening. We go outside and see fire, smoke.”
As Senese cleared unit 100, he looked up at the blaze.
“By the time I came out, it had grown probably 10 times in size. It just kept multiplying and multiplying.”
With the spread of the fire, he next headed back to unit 96 to make sure its residents got out.
In the end, that third unit suffered little visible damage.
Investigators go through the scene of a multi-unit townhouse fire in London, Ont. on Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)
Investigators go through the scene of a multi-unit townhouse fire in London, Ont. on Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)
London Fire Platoon Chief Colin Shewell says all residents are fortunate Senese saw the flames as witness reports suggest it began on the balcony.
Still, he says the fire and another on Madison Avenue in London Monday are a solid reminder to ensure smoke alarms and carbom monoxide detectors are powered and working correctly.
Fire inspectors and police are working on a cause, but Shewell says, at this point, it does not appear to be suspicious.
“For now there is nothing here to indicate anything out of the ordinary. It’s a routine investigation with our partners.”
Damage is estimated between $200,000 and $300,000.
It’s a difficult loss, but Shewell says not as difficult as what could have been.
“It’s a good news story here, neighbour helping neighbour and no injuries to our firefighters or anyone involved in this tragic situation.”
“(Senese) is amazing," a neighbour told CTV News off-camera, as many gathered to survey the damage Tuesday morning.
Senese says he only did “what anybody would have done.”
In total, the London Fire Department says eight people were able to safely escape the south London fire.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Record-breaking N.B. lottery winner kept winning ticket on dresser for nearly a year
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Gangs netting up to US$3 trillion a year as Southeast Asia human trafficking becomes a global crisis, Interpol says
Human trafficking-fuelled fraud is exploding in Southeast Asia with organized crime rings raking in close to US$3 trillion in illicit revenue annually, the head of Interpol has said in comments that reveal the huge profits being earned by cartels.