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Ottawa firefighters acted quickly Thursday morning to put out a fire that started when the family's dog chewed on heated ski gloves, causing a battery fire.
Ottawa Fire Services (OFS) said it was first alerted to the fire at the two-storey home on Bevington Walk in Orleans by an alarm monitoring company. The company also notified the homeowner, who confirmed the fire after reviewing CCTV footage and also rushed to the scene.
Passersby also called 911 to report the fire.
Firefighters arrived four minutes later to find heavy smoke and flames coming from the first floor window.
Firefighters extinguished the flames with a hose, then entered through the front door and searched the house for occupants. They found the family dog and rescued the animal, which was unharmed.
The fire was contained in about 10 minutes.
Residents displaced
Security camera footage confirmed that the dog found a heated ski glove equipped with a lithium-ion battery and began chewing on it on the couch, damaging the battery. It caught fire, causing a fire.
The video shows the large black and tan dog chewing on the glove and then starting to smoke. The dog jumps off the couch and watches for a moment before leaving the room as flames spread from the glove to the blanket on the couch.
After making sure there was no residual fire, firefighters used high-pressure fans to ventilate the house. As a result of the fire, an adult and a child were injured, the UFS reported.
The OFS is using the incident to remind people that lithium-ion batteries can pose a serious safety risk if they are “damaged, punctured, crushed or mishandled.”
“Residents are reminded to store items containing lithium-ion batteries safely, keep them out of the reach of pets and children, and immediately stop using and properly dispose of any battery or device that shows signs of damage, swelling, overheating or malfunction,” the fire department said.
