Early morning fire destroys house, endangers neighbouring homes
Cause not yet identified for Waterloo blaze, with damage pegged at $500,000
WATERLOO — A predawn fire on Sunday caused at least $500,000 damage to a Waterloo home.
The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office has been called in to investigate the blaze at 87 Bridge St. W., Waterloo Fire Platoon Chief Ken Lumgair said.
Apparently no one was inside at the time of the fire. The owners have been contacted.
A passerby saw flames shortly after 5 a.m. and called 911. Firefighters had the fire under control within 30 minutes, but it continued to smoulder for hours.
“There are still hot spots,” Lumgair said at 10 a.m. on Sunday.
As of 3 p.m., there were still some flare-ups, Platoon Chief Dean Good said.
The house, near the intersection with Bridle Trail, will be torn down.
“The entire roof structure is burnt off the home,” Lumgair said. “It’s a total loss. There will be nothing left. We expect the damage to exceed the half-milliondollar mark.”
Firefighters were concerned houses on either side of 87 Bridge St. W. would catch fire so “crews wetted those homes down right away,” Lumgair said.
A car in a neighbour’s driveway had some heat damage. Lumgair said there was no indication of the cause. An investigator with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office has taken over. The office is contacted whenever damage hits $500,000.