A bathroom fan is blamed for starting a house fire at St. Clair Parkway and Lasalle Line Friday morning.
Firefighters from St. Clair Township and the City of Sarnia responded at around 6:15 a.m.
Sarnia Fire Chief Bryan Van Gaver said the wrong address was provided during the initial call, which prompted St. Clair Fire to respond to the scene first.
"When they got there, St. Clair didn't see anything and then one of their people happened to see smoke farther down the road, which was in Sarnia's jurisdiction," said Van Gaver. "So they proceeded down there and did the initial attack on the fire and then notified dispatch that it was actually Sarnia's call."
Van Gaver said St. Clair Township responded with two stations and Sarnia responded with three additional stations.
The two jurisdictions worked together until the fire was under control, at which point, St. Clair fire crews were able to leave the scene.
"Sarnia still has a truck on the scene and we'll likely be there for the remainder of the day," he said. "We'll be looking for hot spots throughout the day."
Although the area (surrounding the 2000 block of St. Clair Parkway) reopened to traffic around 10:15 a.m., Van Gaver asked motorists to be cautious when driving by.
In an update Friday afternoon, Chief Fire Prevention Officer Roel Bus said the fire was concentrated to the north side of the attic, which had been converted to bedrooms.
"The presence of knee walls, behind where the fire was burning, made the initial attack more difficult," Bus said. "It was brought under control quickly."
He said the fire was started by a bathroom fan that ignited nearby combustibles.
"The fire spread into the space behind the knee walls in the attic, and severely damaged the underside of the roof. There is no suspicion of criminal activity," said Bus.
Bus said the lone occupant was alerted to the fire by a bystander knocking on the door.
"Smoke alarms were present in the house. There were no injuries to report," he said.
Damage is estimated to be about $250,000.
