A Jan. 11 house fire was extinguished without incident thanks to a quick-thinking homeowner.
After smelling smoke upon her return from work, the owner of the Jumping Pound Terrace home was unable to locate any flames and called Cochrane Fire Services, said Jay Wieliczko, a Cochrane fire investigator.
When they arrived, firefighters were able to locate heat in the wall behind an on-demand water heater through the use of a thermal imaging camera, said Wieliczko.
“The heat was caused by a failure in the on-demand water heater, although we don’t know for sure what caused that failure,” he said.
“The failure caused heat to penetrate the wall near the heater and the wood joists began to smolder.”
While the joists were blackened and close to igniting, Wieliczko said there were no flames.
The water heater was removed.
The incident has resulted in about $10,000 worth of damage, although Wieliczko said there was “minimal structural damage.”
Most of the cost will account for the purchase and installation of a new on-demand water heater.
