Malfunctioning freezer sparks house fire
A malfunctioning freezer is said to have sparked a $ 200,000 residential blaze in Wainfleet.
Wainfleet Fire and Emergency Services were on scene for several hours after fire started in a single- family residence at 11645 Highway 3 Wednesday morning.
Fire Chief Lee Smith said an estimated $ 200,000 in damage was done. He said the fire was caused by a malfunctioning freezer in the basement.
No one was home at the time. Firefighters were dispatched at 8: 15 a. m. When crews arrived on scene, Smith said, smoke was visible from the eavestroughs. Upon opening a door, responders discovered there was smoke throughout much of the home.
“They hit it from the front door and the back door and found that it was already a little bit progressed to the point that it was in the basement, it was on the main floor and it was also in the attic,” Smith said.
He said crews cut a hole in the roof to ventilate and they were able to attack fire that had spread to the attic from that way. Other attacks were made from the front and back doors as the fire had burned a large hole in the main floor, preventing firefighters from going inside.
With mutual aid from Port Colborne, Pelham and Haldimand County fire departments, Smith said firefighters kept a circulation of tankers bringing water in to the scene. Port Colborne Fire and Emergency Services also helped by providing extra bodies so the firefighters could have a crew rotation.
Smith said it took between 90 minutes and two hours to bring the fire under control and another half- hour beyond that before it was stopped. He said firefighters remained on scene for several more hours to make sure no hotspots flared up.
Smith said some rooms in the house were gutted by the fire while others sustained water and smoke damage.
“All the firefighters on the scene worked really hard and well as a team together to make a great stop on this fire,” he said.
Niagara Regional Police, OPP and trucks from The Miller Group, a highway maintenance company, closed the road until just before Wainfleet’s team left the scene, Smith said. The NRP’s traffic update Twitter account indicates police left the scene just after 2 p. m.