'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
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.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.