Fishing gear destroyed

Shed full of fishing equipment burns

A fire destroyed a storage building filled with fishing gear in Pleasant View, near Miminegash, Sunday afternoon. The Miminegash Volunteer Fire Department responded to the call at about 1:30 p.m. and was assisted on the scene by colleagues from Tignish. Rob Tremblay, Miminegash’s deputy fire chief, said Monday that the structure was engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived.

The owner lives on the same property as the shed, said Tremblay, and had been working in the building until around lunchtime. Shortly thereafter they noticed smoke billowing from the storage building and called 911.

The structure had been used to store fishing gear and the owners tried to remove what they could while they waited for help.

One man was treated on the scene for possible smoke inhalation and was taken to hospital as a precaution. There were no other injuries.

Other than what the owner managed to save, the structure and its contents were a “total loss,” said Tremblay.

“All his traps he’d use this spring – he lost everything there,” he added.

Firefighters were, however, able to stop the fire from spreading to other nearby buildings, though at least one had some of its siding melt.

There was no word as of Monday as to what may have caused the fire.