A dog has died following an apartment fire on Wright Street in Welland.
Acting Fire Chief Adam Eckhart says owners came home to the fire at around 7:00 p.m. last night.
"The male of the building entered looking for this dog which we strongly discourage. Firefighters upon arrival searched the building, located the dog and removed him from the fire."
Eckhart says the dog died from smoke inhalation, but no one else was hurt in the blaze.
It started in the kitchen area and it cause extensive smoke and water damage in the rest of the unit as well as the apartment below.
The residents in both apartments were displaced for the night.
Eckhart says firefighters have found nothing suspicious at this time and the cause is believed to be electrical.
The damage estimate is still under review, but it's currently believed to be over $75,000.
Eckhart says they also found several disabled smoke alarms in the unit.
"Had it (the fire) happened later in the evening, the potential for that to be catastrophic or fatal with injures to people and pets would have gone up significantly. We encourage everyone to have working smoke alarms in all levels of their home."
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