Firefighters from Malaspina Volunteer Fire Department responded to a report of a home on fire on Centennial Drive near Myrtle Rocks Monday, May 12.
The department’s fourth this year, said Dave Keiver, fire chief.
“It’s out of the normal,” said Keiver. “Lots of time we go years without having even one.”
He said that his volunteers, which numbered 21 at their peak, were called out to the fire at 3:43 pm and spent the next 14 hours fighting a difficult fire that had spread throughout the two-storey house.
In addition to fire services, police, ambulance, emergency social services and members of the Red Cross were on scene to assist.
Padgett Road was closed to traffic while crews worked to contain the fire.
“We couldn’t gain entry [to the house] because it was too dangerous for our firefighters with its heat and heavy smoke,” said Keiver.
Fire crews faced a challenge, “especially when the building is compromised and you can’t go inside,” he added. They worked to punch holes in the house and used windows as much as they could to get water inside.
The house was a complete loss, he said.
They were called back a few hours after they had put the fire out to contend with a minor hot spot, but by mid-morning Tuesday, May 13, all crews had left the scene.
Keiver said none of his crew were injured fighting the house fire and no occupants were in the home.
Keiver will be investigating the cause of the fire, but said that there was no reason to think the cause was suspicious. He will prepare a preliminary report for the province’s fire commissioner.
