Skip to content

Faulty plug-in A/C unit likely cause of John Street fire

Two families evacuated from Chelmsford rowhouse following afternoon fire
180821_GSFS-john-street-fire
Greater Sudbury firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a rowhouse on John Street in Chelmsford on Aug. 18.

Two families were displaced today from a fire that caught in the second storey apartment of a rowhouse on John Street in Chelmsford this afternoon.

Greater Sudbury Fire Services responded to the fire after the noon hour.

“Quick action by fire crews contained the attic fire to two units. Paramedics on standby. No civilian injuries,” the fire service tweeted around 2 p.m.

Platoon Chief André Groulx said the cause of the fire seems to be a faulty plug-in air-conditioning unit, which caught fire. The family in the second-storey residence, a husband, wife and two children, got out safely. 

One neighbouring unit was also impacted by the fire and had to be evacuated as well, displacing a family of six.

The families won’t be able to return to their residences. Groulx estimated the fire damage to be in the neighbourhood of $100,000.


Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.