Man alerts 100 residents of townhouse fire

Some 100 residents of a townhouse complex north of Toronto are crediting a 21-year-old man with saving them from an overnight fire. York Regional Police said 16 units were completely destroyed by the blaze that broke out around 2 a.m. Monday in Sutton, 55 miles north of Toronto. The rest of the units all sustained smoke and water damage, the Toronto Star said. Officials credit James Slatcher, 21, with rousting sleeping residents. He was visiting family who live in the complex and throwing basketball hoops on a public court when he smelled smoke. He told the Star he first pulled the fire alarm, got his sister, niece and nephew out of their unit and then began hammering on doors and yelling to wake people up. "I wasn't really thinking -- I was just getting as many people out as I could," he said.Fire officials said no one was injured in the fire, although some pets died. Police Sgt. David Riches said the cause of the fire wasn't known, but arson wasn't suspected. He credited Slatcher's quick thinking with saving many lives. "It could have been a catastrophe," he said.