A man taken to hospital without vital signs after being removed from a south St. Catharines house fire Thursday morning has died.
Just before 9 a.m., St. Catharines Fire and Emergency Services were called to 83 Jacobson Ave., a single-storey bungalow adjacent to Pen Shopping Centre parking lot.
Fire Chief Dave Upper said three people were injured, with one taken to hospital with vital signs absent.
Upper said the fire started in one of the bedrooms in the basement, and that the victim, a middle-aged man, was in the adjacent room.
He said crews quickly retrieved the unconscious man and took him out the back door of the house, where Niagara Emergency Medical Services were waiting with a stretcher.
He said a firefighter who was performing CPR on the man went with paramedics in the ambulance to St. Catharines hospital.
“Crews did an unbelievable job in bringing the patient out,” Upper said.
Later Tuesday, Upper said the man had died.
Two other people suffered minor smoke inhalation from the blaze but refused treatment.
At this time, it’s not known how the fire started. Upper said the blaze was contained to the basement, though the damage is extensive.
“We’ve got significant smoke damage throughout the house,” he said.
The fire department’s investigation team has been brought in to probe the cause of the blaze, along with the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal. The fire marshal’s office is typically involved when a fire results in death or serious injury.
Niagara Regional Police closed Jacobson between Chestnut Street West and Oscar Avenue and asked people to avoid the area.