A Vernon cop entered this building early Sunday morning after hearing an alarm going off.
(CHARLOTTE HELSTON / iNFOnews.ca)
July 08, 2013 - 1:25 PM
COP PEERS THROUGH MAIL SLOT, GETS VISUAL ON OVERHEATING KETTLE, KICKS DOOR DOWN
VERNON - A cop's quick thinking and quick action saved a sleeping resident from a potentially life-threatening situation Sunday morning.
Around 3:25 a.m. the cop was patrolling Vernon's downtown area when he heard what he believed to be a fire alarm near an apartment building at 3608 30th Avenue.
The alarm sounded like a private residential smoke alarm and seemed to be coming from the second floor on the east side of the building. The officer got out of his vehicle, entered the building, and investigated several floors before discovering the source of the alarm at unit 308.
"Our officer was able to look through the mail slot of the door, he could see that a kettle was left on the stove and was actively overheating and all the plastic was melting and was about to catch on fire," RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said. "He could not get anyone to answer the door. Our officer quickly kicked the door in and gained entry to the suite and removed the kettle from the stove to prevent a fire in the apartment building."
A quick check of the apartment resulted in the discovery of a man sleeping in the bedroom. The 36-year-old resident was heavily medicated as he sufferers from several illnesses and is amputated on both legs.
"Our officer spoke to the resident and he had no recollection that he left the kettle on the stove," Molendyk said.
The Vernon Fire Department was not called out as the officer was able to deal with the kettle on the stove before a fire started. The smell of burnt plastic lingered in the air but was flushed out by the building's ventilation system.
"Luckily there were no injuries or loss of property or worse, from this incident and a fire was prevented thanks to a working smoke alarm and our officer being alert and investigating the sound of the smoke alarm," Molendyk said.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca, call (250)309-5230 or tweet @charhelston
News from © iNFOnews, 2013