PelhamToday received the following letter to the editor regarding Pelham Fire Department's response time and keeping safe during the holiday season.
The recent fire in our chimney sounded like a jet engine on full throttle. Against the dark night sky, our chimney pot looked like a blast furnace. Scary.
Our Town of Pelham Fire Department responded rapidly to my 911 call. And in reassuring strength. We don't have Town water supply on our small farm in Fenwick, so there was at least one water tank truck waiting in support at the end of our driveway.
The Fire Department quickly contained the fire within the chimney. No-one was hurt. And our dogs were safe. We're very thankful as things could surely have been much, much worse.
A shout-out to the Pelham Fire Crew who were truly amazing! As a team, they were very kind, calm, reassuring, and laser focused on the tasks at hand.
We try to 'do the right thing'. We have our chimney professionally swept once a year, and we burn only hard wood. We have a 5 months old monitored smoke detection system supplied by a national company. BUT their smoke detector failed and did not raise the alarm at the monitoring centre. We have our own smoke detectors in the house and they were going berserk. Thankfully, I was home and was able to phone 911.
As we approach the holiday season, may we encourage you to check your smoke detectors are functioning properly. If the device is old, replace it, and if you have a smoke detector connected to a monitoring centre, check that the device actually works. Don't assume!
The Town of Pelham Fire Department website provides a wealth of helpful information https://www.pelham.ca/en/living-here/fire-services.aspx. If in doubt, make a non-emergency call to the fire department - they are happy to give advice.
We express our heartfelt gratitude to Fire Chief Bob Lymburner and all of his crew who attended at our home and waited at the roadside. Our deep thanks also to the ambulance service and police service who attended as a precaution.
In the midst of life, stuff, and everything, may we wish you all a safe and peaceful holiday season. Staying alive and staying safe is a precious gift in so many ways.
Ruaraidh Butler
Fenwick
