Firefighters attending community event put out fire in apartment suite

It’s always nice to have some firefighters around, just in case of an emergency.

On Wednesday evening, Saskatoon firefighters were attending a community event near Avenue W South when a person rushed over to report smoke coming from a nearby apartment.

According to the fire department, the firefighters made it to the scene less than a minute later, and police officers told them about a fire in the basement of the apartment complex.

Two more fire engines, a ladder unit, a rescue unit and the battalion chief were also dispatched to the scene. The firefighters who had arrived on the scene pinned down the location of the blaze and directed the newly arrived crews to the right suite.

Firefighters found the door locked, the fire department said, but forced their way inside and put out the fire, which was in a storage room beside the suite’s door.

The fire was brought under control less than half an hour after the bystander first approached the firefighters.

The suite turned out to be vacant, the fire department said, and firefighters ventilated the building to clear it of smoke. The total damage from the fire was estimated at $30,000.

A fire investigator examined the scene and ruled the fire was suspicious, the fire department said, and the investigation was handed off to Saskatoon police.