A member of the BV Fire Department directs water into the hole where the roof has collapsed at the home on Scotch Bush Road early Friday afternoon, while another firefighter is directed by Chief Darryl Wagner.

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Dacre – A family of four was displaced Friday after a noon hour fire caused heavy damage to their residence at 48 Scotch Bush Road.

The Bonnechere Valley (BV) Fire Department was dispatched for a structure fire at 12:52 p.m. and responded with 12 personnel.

“I was first on scene and when I arrived there was a hole through the roof on the back of the house, and it (the fire) was progressing,” Fire Chief Darryl Wagner said. “There was smoke coming out the front, but most of the fire was at the back.

“Once we got on scene, we hit it with water right away, before we even decided to drop the porta-tank,” he added. “I said, ‘Let’s get water on this thing and knock it down.’

“There were flames showing through the roof and we had guys hitting it from both sides,” he added. “And we had two guys on the veranda roof that were hitting it from the top side.”

Chief Wagner said once more personnel arrived, they set up the porta-tank and were drawing water from a pond just across Highway 132 at Flat Road. He said there was heavy smoke inside the main roof, so a firefighter removed the vent in the gable end and another firefighter directed a stream of water into
the opening.

“Once we got it to where the smoke was more manageable, we went in and did an interior attack,” he said.

The fire was under control in 20 minutes which pleased Chief Wagner considering the number of personnel attending.

“It went extremely well,” he said. “I did put Douglas on stand-by just because you never know who is showing up and how advanced this fire is going to be.”

He said even when he was en-route to the fire, there was no large plume of smoke visible.

“I didn’t see anything.”

The chief acknowledged a neighbour had been applying some water on the fire with a garden hose before the department arrived. One bystander who was visiting nearby said she heard their dog barking and looked out and saw black smoke pouring from the home.

Chief Wagner said the home was occupied by a family of four. No one was at home at the time of the fire. The cause of the fire is undetermined at this point, but it is not considered suspicious.

“The house is still standing but there’s a lot of water and smoke damage. We did do some overhaul and salvage for them and we were able to get some stuff out.”

He said a nearby garage and exterior oil tank were never threatened by the fire. The department was on scene until 4:40.

Called Back

The department was called back to 441 Cormac Road on Sunday at about 1 p.m.

Chief Wagner said this fire was “a little suspicious” because the initial fire razed a large log home on June 6, and a subsequent fire destroyed another attached building the next day.

He said the debris “did not sit all week and then, all of sudden, flare back up.”

That prompted a call to the Ontario Provincial Police who sent in their Forensic Unit to investigate. Chief Wagner said he also notified the Fire Marshal’s Office advising them of the situation.

Four personnel responded to the scene.