‘That’s my neighbour’s backyard,’ says homeowner who tried to help fight blaze
Initial damage to Moscrip Road home estimated at $500,000
CAMBRIDGE — Shawn Ridout was getting a haircut from his wife in the backyard when he saw the smoke and flames coming from two doors down.
“I said, ‘Holy s—-, that’s my neighbour’s backyard.’”
And the 38-year-old Glen Road resident leaped into action. Ridout went to the house next door, turned on the hose and started shooting water on the fire at 177 Moscrip Rd.
“We tried to at least douse some water on it to try and contain it a bit because I didn’t want it to spread any further this way. I have family at home and I want to make sure they’re safe 100 per cent, same with my neighbour. I was just trying to do the right thing.”
Ridout, however, said he had to bow out of battling the blaze rather quickly.
“It was mad hot. I was right there with the house and there was (stuff ) shooting at me. Then it was like, this is not my pay grade. I’m not a fireman. I’ve done restorations my whole life, so I knew exactly what’s going on.”
Cambridge Fire Department Platoon Chief Mike Pauze said the fire started at about 3:30 p.m. and when crews arrived, they believed two houses were on fire due to the amount of smoke. Flames were also visible through the “back roof” of the home, Pauze said.
Initially, he said, the start of the fire doesn’t appear to be suspicious, but fire officials were still trying to determine the cause. What they do know,
Pauze said, was the fire began in the shed, spread to the eaves of the house, blew through a window and travelled up the roof to the attic. In total, 24 firefighters responded to the blaze.
Firefighters were seen dragging carpets full of insulation out of the house after the fire was extinguished.
Pauze said six teenagers and one woman, their mother, lived in the home, but only the woman and three children were home at the time of the fire.
The four were already out of the home when firefighters arrived, and no injuries were reported.
The initial cost of fire damage was estimated at $500,000.
Pauze said the Red Cross was going to help the displaced family.