A house fire on Township Road 584 saw the west wing of a home in flames before the St. Paul Fire Department responded to put out the blaze on Dec. 28.
Cpt. Rob Duffy was on scene at the fire, on Thursday. The fire is under investigation by the St. Paul Fire Department.
The owners of the home weren’t inside when the fire began, according to Duffy and a next-door neighbor who was on scene. It was later confirmed that no one was home at the time of the tire, but the property “is a total loss,” according to a media release from the St. Paul Fire Department.
A passerby made the 911 call as they saw the fire while driving past the house.
Duffy says the fire department received the call at 1:47 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, and had the fire contained quickly, between 15 and 20 minutes later. Firefighters arrived on scene approximately eight minutes after the call, citing icy road conditions as a factor.
“Due to fire, smoke and water damage, (costs) will be substantial,” said Duffy, while on scene.
“It’s too dangerous to do the investigation in this weather. The house has been taped off until it warms up enough that we can get (inside) to complete the investigation,” he added. The temperature at the time of the call felt like -35C with the wind chill.
Duffy added the damages could have been a lot worse as a shop was in close proximity to where the fire began, but firefighters were able to contain the blaze in time.
A total of 14 firefighters responded to the call on Thursday. Firefighters worked for about six hours in the freezing cold temperatures.
