SHUNIAH, Ont. -- A crying baby may have saved the lives of four occupants of a Longhouse Village trailer, including its own.
Shuniah Fire and Rescue Chief Blair Arthur on Monday said a purposely disabled fire alarm left no early warning system in place for the family, who likely only got out of the burning structure when the baby's cries awoke the mother, who then alerted the other residents, allowing all to flee to safety outside.
"This was very close. If the baby that was in the home didn't start to cry, I don't anticipate this would have been a good outcome," Arthur said, "because no one else was awake in the home. And when the mother was awake, she found the house was already full of smoke and had to wake up the other residents."
When fire crews arrived on scene at about 2:15 a.m. on Sunday morning, the trailer was fully involved, and all four residents were outside in a car, along with their two pets.
Damage was extensive, Arthur said.
"We found heavy smoke and flames coming from the rear of the building. Once everyone was accounted for, we were able to knock down the flames rather quickly and then start to extinguish the rest of the fire," Arthur said.
"At this time the fire has completely consumed the inside of the residence, so it's a total loss."
The fire was extinguished at about 3:45 a.m.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation. Arthur said it's a reminder of just how important -- and mandatory -- smoke alarms are.
"Smoke alarms should never be disabled for any reason, and there are different ways to mitigate nuisance alarms by location and the type of smoke alarm you can use. By simply moving it to a different location or using a different type, would definitely have a different outcome with this call," Arthur said, adding fire departments are more than willing to discuss options with homeowners and residents before its too late.
The residents of the mobile home have been connected with the Thunder Bay Red Cross Disaster Assistance Team to help them with shelter, clothing and diapers.
