Flames destroy home
Two fire departments respond to afternoon blaze in St. Nicholas
A residence in St. Nicholas was destroyed Thursday in an afternoon fire.
No one was home when the two-storey farm-style house on Honore-S-Gallant Road caught fire just before 2 p.m.
Wellington firefighters had knocked down the flames and were still dousing the wreakage at 4:30 p.m.
Flames shooting from the roof and windows could be seen from nearby Route 11 and drew the attention of a number of nearby residents who arrived to investigate the black smoke rising over the trees. A passerby who stopped to take a photograph even before firefighters arrived said the heat from the fire was so intense it forced him to back away from the burning home.
Jason Woodbury, chief of the neighbouring Miscouche Fire Department - which provided firefighting and water assistance at the scene – said no one was injured in fighting the blaze and the property’s owner was not home at the time of the fire.
“The residence was fully involved when we arrived,” said Woodbury from the scene late Thursday afternoon. “It’s still smoldering and we’re continuing to put water on it.”
RCMP and provincial transportation officials had closed the small dirt road just off Route 11, about 15 kilometres west of Summerside.
Water tankers from the two fire departments shuttled water to the scene from a nearby brook further up Route 11.
Woodbury said the destruction was confined to the home as no adjacent buildings were damaged in the blaze.
The chief of the Wellington Fire Department was busy at the scene and unavailable for comment.