A retired Vancouver police officer, who rushed to a neighbour’s aid when a fire broke out, says the incident may finally lead to the man getting some much needed help.
The Sechelt Fire Department was called out to a home at 5815 Forest Rd. in Sandy Hook just before 7 p.m. May 29, but Charles Ennis was the first to be alerted.
“He [my neighbour] texted me five words: ‘My mattress is on fire,’” Ennis recalled.
As Ennis’ wife Laurel called 911, he hurried to his neighbour’s home where he was able to get the 70-year-old and his dog to safety.
“I opened the door and it was just filled with smoke – you can’t see more than five paces into the place,” Ennis said, adding that the dog came right to him, but his neighbour was disoriented and didn’t seem to know what to do. That’s because he suffers from mental health and other issues as the result of a stroke.
Assistant fire chief Dwight Davison said firefighters had the fire under control within five minutes of getting to the scene, thanks in part to some simple actions Ennis took. “When the neighbour was assisting in getting the homeowner out they did all the right stuff,” Davison said. “They closed the doors behind them, which contained the fire to the point of origin and didn’t allow the fire to spread.”
The only damage was to the bedroom.
Ennis, who moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2013, started looking in on his neighbour a little over a year ago and advocating on his behalf for more home-care help and the assessments he needs for a possible transfer to residential care.
“I understand the limitations of the system … I know that it’s underfunded, I know that the workers have enormous case loads. I get that, so I’ve been trying to be their eyes and ears,” Ennis, who used to work with mental health emergency services during his time with the Vancouver Police Department, told Coast Reporter.
Ennis said as a result of the fire it looks as though his neighbour might be getting that extra care. He’s currently at Sechelt Hospital awaiting assessment, while the Ennises look after his dog.
Davison said the fire is still under investigation, with “improperly disposed of smoking materials” listed as the probable cause.
