A homeowner has been fined for failing to install a smoke alarm after a fire severely damaged a Mountdale Avenue home Saturday night.
Firefighters were called to the home on Saturday evening and were able to extinguish the blaze.
Fire prevention officer Eric Nordlund said the blaze started in the back portion of the house on the main floor and he says the house will probably have to be gutted from the fire and smoke damage.
The house is a single-family dwelling and was rented out to a family. Five people were home at the time of the fire.
"Three managed to escape by means of the backdoor," said Nordlund. "Two had to be rescued from the basement window by a passerby and by other building occupants."
Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue officers found no working smoke alarms in the house and Nordlund said alarms always make a difference when a fire occurs.
"In this case, we had a significant fire that was on the main floor that was only discovered by sheer luck that someone was awake that time of the evening and they could smell smoke," he said.
The on-scene evaluation is done and the Ontario Fire Marshal is now investigating.
