Five people were taken to the hospital with burns, including one person with critical injuries, after London firefighters responded to a report of multiple “patients on fire” at a fraternity house near Western University.
Emergency crews responded Tuesday at about 11:45 p.m. to 925 Richmond St. for a report of a structure fire with multiple injuries.
Paramedics took five people to hospital with burns, including one patient listed in critical condition, said Samantha Vollick, a spokesperson for Middlesex-London Paramedic Service.
The fire happened at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house, a three-storey building at the corner of Richmond and Cheapside streets.
Emergency responders had cleared the scene by Wednesday. There was no damage visible to the exterior of the house and no smell of smoke lingered in the air. Red single-use cups and an empty bottle of tequila littered the snow-covered lawn.
A resident of the house declined comment. “We’re not speaking to the press,” he said.
Western University is aware of the off-campus fire that resulted in injuries, a spokesperson said.
“We are working to ensure our students get the support they need,” the university said in a statement. “Any questions about the investigation should be directed to London Police Service.”
London police are investigating the fire, police spokesperson Const. Matt Dawson said.
The Free Press reviewed an emergency dispatch call to the home that initially reported a structure fire with “confirmed patients on fire” at a fraternity house near Richmond and Cheapside streets.
“We have multiple people possibly burned. One was on fire,” the dispatcher says in an update a few minutes later.
Police were the first to arrive at the scene, where everybody was outside the house. Several people, at least one of them a female, with burns were located. No smoke or flames were visible when firefighters arrived, the dispatcher said.
“This fire is out. Apparently it was some wrapping paper that was on the wall,” a firefighter at the scene later reported.
“We have four victims with second-degree burns on different locations on their body,” he said, adding the patients had burns to their hands, legs and one on their face. Four ambulances were requested to respond.
The London fire department didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Founded in 1886 at the University of Virginia, Pi Kappa Alpha, known as Pike, has more than 200 chapters across North America with more than 15,000 members, according to its website.
The fraternity didn’t respond to a request for comment.