London fire truck. (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News.)London fire truck. (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News.)
London

Backyard clutter hampered efforts to extinguish east-end blaze

A cluttered backyard slowed firefighters trying to douse an overnight garage fire in east London.

Calls to 911 about the fire in a portable, temporary garage behind a home at 66 Dakin Street south of Hamilton Road began coming in around 1:30 a.m. Thursday.

"There were some propane tanks involved in the fire when firefighters showed up," said London Fire Department Platoon Chief Colin Shewell. "Crews were able to mitigate them and make it safe for everyone in the area."

The fire would have been put out quicker had access to the structure not been blocked by a large amount of debris in the backyard, Shewell added.

It took crews about an hour to fully extinguish the blaze. No injuries were reported and a damage estimate has not yet been released.

"Due to the debris in the backyard, hydro in the area, it being quite dark last night, and out of concern for the safety of our fire inspectors, we held off until daylight to commence our investigation into the cause of the fire," said Shewell.

London police are guarding the scene until fire inspectors arrive.

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