A space heater is being blamed for a fire that broke out at a Chatham home early Wednesday morning.
Fire crews from Stations 1 and 2 were called to the scene on Payne St. at around 2:45am.
Chatham-Kent fire officials say the blaze started after a blanket fell onto a space heater. The fire then ended up spreading to a bed where a woman was sleeping. There weren't any working smoke alarms in the home but two people who were awake at the time were able to put out the fire with an extinguisher.
Two women, a 52-year-old and a 27-year-old were taken to the hospital with undisclosed injuries.
“She is extremely lucky that someone in the home was awake in the middle of the night to put the fire out,” said Assistant Chief Chris Case in a media release. “The outcome of this incident could have been very different. The best way to protect your family during a fire is by having working alarms installed and maintained – it’s the law.”
Firefighters will revisit the area to check that neighbours have working fire and carbon monoxide alarms in their homes.
-With files from Matt Weverink.