Rash of apartment fires has fire department reminding tenants to keep doors closed

The London Fire Department is reminding apartment dwellers to keep their doors shut to help prevent the spread of fire, and to have an escape plan in place for when one does take place.

It comes as fire crews have found themselves battling a rash of fires at multi-unit dwellings over the last several weeks.

“Fire does not wait,” said fire inspector, Chris Rennie, with the LFD.

In a tour of a Godfrey Drive apartment building where a fire took place last Saturday, Insp. Rennie pointed out the bedroom where the fire began, and explained how the fire was largely contained simply by keeping the bedroom door closed.

“And for this door to be closed it stopped the spread of fire,” Rennie said. “With the fire alarm in the building, that activated tenants to get out safely.”

He said last year’s message from the office of the Ontario Fire Marshall was ‘close before you doze,’ and he said it’s a message that has proven timely in 2022.

Closing doors to a unit also prevents fire from spreading down a main corridor, keeping others safe, said Insp. Rennie.

“When all the occupants left, of course, they shut their doors,” he said. “So we have no fire in any other units here. It was contained to there with the door closed, and the smoke spread in the hallway.”

Rennie adds that the same goes for exterior doors. While it may be convenient to keep them propped open for a time, Rennie says remember to shut them when you’re finished with your tasks.

Meantime, unlike the way houses are built, Insp. Rennie said apartment units have fire separation.

“So we compartmentalize each unit,” he said. “So this unit is fire rated, to protect and stop the spread of smoke and fire to the next unit. When you’re in an open house, especially nowadays with the open concept, that allows oxygen to entrain and allow that fire to grow faster.”

Most importantly, Rennie stresses having an escape plan, and having working smoke alarms.

“The last thing we want is injuries,” he said. “If we can prevent fires before they happen, that’s our goal — so please have a working smoke alarm.”