Family of five escapes fire
Raging snowstorm made it difficult for firefighters to get to Borden-Carleton home
A young family of five is safe after a fire early Friday morning gutted their home on Carleton Road in Borden-Carleton. East Prince RCMP received a call of a residential fire at 262 Carleton St. at 7:50 a.m. on Feb. 10.
Firefighters from the Borden-Carleton and Kinkora fire departments were dispatched to the scene, but because of the nasty weather, it took a bit of time for many firefighters to get there.
RCMP confirmed that all occupants were able to get out of the house without injuries.
Disaster volunteers with the Canadian Red Cross is assisting the couple and their three children, who range in age from 10 months to 10 years, with emergency lodging, food, clothing and other basics.
Larry Allen, a captain with the Borden-Carleton Fire Department, said they needed some help getting to the scene during the snowstorm from plow driver John Paul Noonan.
“John Paul Noonan broke the trail to get us to the fire. There were four of us (firefighters) that went to the call right off the bat,’’ Allen said.
“We followed him around to the fire on Carleton Street and it was an hour or more before anybody else (could get there). There were some firemen that got out from around the community and they started coming.”
Allen said the house is a writeoff; only the four walls remain of the structure.
“When we got there the flames were coming out the back of the roof. We would have hoped for a better result but the weather was a factor and we were down manpower for the first bit, too.
“It’s a sin that happened. You don’t like to see anybody go through that. It’s a small community and you know everybody.’’
Allen said the Borden-Carleton Fire Department had three trucks on scene and the Kinkora department responded with two.
About 20 firefighters battled the blaze and were on scene much of the day.
Jamie Fox, who lives in the community and also serves as the interim leader of the province’s Opposition party, also lent a hand. “I had to take my son down to drop him off. He works for a plowing company so … on the way down I saw the fire, so I plowed a road over on the back street and then cleared some snow for Kinkora Fire Department so they could get their equipment on the backside of the fire,” Fox said.
He said the Department of Transportation also deserves credit for helping out.
Fox added that he has talked to a relative of the family who said the family is “quite distraught.”