‘This is a big fire!’ More than a half-dozen left homeless as flames claim two south London, Ont. townhomes

More than a half-dozen people are homeless after flames claimed two south London townhomes. Sean Irvine reports.

A fire in London’s south end has heavily damaged two townhouses and left more than a half-dozen people homeless.

It broke out shortly after 10:30 p.m. Sunday inside a townhouse complex at 575 Wilkins St.

Bryce Leitch and his family of six narrowly escaped being hurt in their end-unit.

He told CTV News he was playing video games with his son in the basement when they heard a noise that sounded like wood being pulled apart.

“When I walked up the stairs, my front window was completely orange, and I was like, ‘What the heck!’ Then I went to the front door and opened it, and my whole front porch was just swirling with fire,” he recalled.

Leitch immediately turned back towards the basement as a window exploded.

In shock, he managed to get his son out the back door of the house before retrieving his wife and three other children.

Once all were safely outside, he looked up at the wall of flames.

“And then I realized, this is a big fire!” he said.

Arriving fire crews, and just about anyone in the vicinity, quickly realized the same, as smoke billowed into the night sky.

“When we arrived, the smoke conditions were so heavy we could not immediately determine what was burning, said District Chief Brad Judd of the London Fire Department.

Pushing their way towards the blaze, firefighters, with the assistance of police and paramedics, verified that everyone in both units had escaped.

Soon afterwards, there was an alarming moment.

“We did have two partial collapses on the upper floors,” said Judd. “The roof caved in, and the ceiling caved in, in some bedrooms. We had to evacuate crews for that and fight it [the fire] from the exterior.”

More than three dozen firefighters in 10 vehicles worked to prevent the blaze from sweeping through the entire block of townhomes.

Glancing at the aftermath, Leitch expressed gratitude for their efforts, adding he never thought the day would come when he would need to call upon the lessons he learned about fire safety in school.

“They drilled this stuff into us when we were kids in school, about, like, fire safety and everything. And you’re like, ‘I’ll never need any of that.’ Well, sometimes you do,” he said.

There is no damage estimate, but Judd acknowledges both units may need to be rebuilt.

Two other units have light smoke damage.

Fire inspectors have begun an investigation into the cause.

Whatever the outcome, Leitch has already put the loss of his home and belongings into perspective.

While saddened that his pet cat perished, he remains grateful his family was not hurt.

“It was the worst, best night anyone could have really asked for,” he said.

Leitch says his family has insurance.

The insurance status of those in the other unit is unknown.