Smoke under floorboards leads to electrical fire in business
By Nelson Daily Editor
Where there was smoke, there was a fire at a downtown business Wednesday evening.
When the Nelson Fire Department was dispatched around 6:30 p.m. to Wait’s News a small amount of smoke coming from the floor of shop led firefighters to suspect the cause was electrical in nature.
The two-member duty shift responded immediately to the location with Engine 2. Nelson Hydro was also dispatched immediately to the scene.
Upon arrival the origin of the smoke appeared to be an electrical junction box at floor level. Disconnection of the power allowed further investigation, which revealed a small fire behind the baseboards at the bottom of the cabinets.
The fire was extinguished and an electrician was contacted to attend prior to restoring power to the premise.
The cause of the fire was determined to be a damaged electrical wire. No injuries have been reported at this time and Wait’s News was closed for approximately one hour. “Fortunately, the timely actions of the business owner resulted in only minor damage to the building,” said fire chief Simon Grypma.
The BC Safety Authority conducted an investigation into this matter on Thursday, March 31.
Reminder
Nelson Fire and Rescue Services would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that in the event of a fire, regardless of the degree, to call the fire department right away to minimize unforeseen damage and injury.
The use of an extension cord as a permanent application can be very dangerous and a certified electrician should be contacted before making any electrical changes.
