Firefighters battle house blaze on New Year's Eve

A house fire in the 400 block of Avenue R South kept the Saskatoon Fire Department busy on Friday night.

A police patrol spotted the fire around 9:20 p.m., and three fire engines, one ladder truck and one rescue unit responded to the fire, while off duty firefighters were called in to operate reserve fire engines, the fire department said in a news release.

Firefighters had limited entry into the home due to unsafe conditions, so they attacked the fire from outside. Some firefighters were assigned to protect neighbouring homes.

A portion of the burning home had to be taken down with an excavator around 3 a.m. after firefighters determined that a wall was at immediate risk of failing from the fire and the weight of water freezing to the structure. The demolition also assisted firefighters in extinguishing an area of fire that couldn't be reached from the exterior.

Ten additional fire crews were rotated through the fire scene during firefighting operations to avoid cold exposure and provide relief, and City of Saskatoon staff assisted by spreading sand around the streets and sidewalks due to icy conditions created by the water used to fight the fire. Fire crews left the scene just before 8 a.m. A fire investigation is underway, the release said, and the home will have to be demolished.

Damage to the structure is estimated at $150,000. A resident reported as living at the home was not accounted for during the fire, the department said, and Saskatoon police are following up.

Fire crews responded to 36 incidents during their 14-hour shift on New Year's Eve.