Oakdale Ave. fire started in bedroom
St. Catharines Fire and Emergency Services investigators are yet to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed a home last week and left a family and their pets homeless.
The stubborn blaze at 152 Oakdale Ave. took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish last Wednesday morning.
At one point, there were six fire trucks and 23 firefighters battling the fire, which forced the department to bring in extra crews to ensure coverage for the rest of the city.
“We are still looking at a few things before we can determine the cause,” said Lars Larson, an assistant chief fire prevention officer. “We are still investigating and reviewing what we have. Sometimes the cause is left undetermined.”
Deputy Chief Dave Upper said the fire originated in a bedroom, but the damage was so extensive it hindered investigators trying to pin down the cause.
Damage to the building and its contents is about $350,000.
Witnesses at the time of the fire believed they heard an explosion from a propane tank of a camping trailer parked on the front lawn. Upper said investigators couldn’t find any evidence of that.
The fire department called in animal control after firefighters found a pair of ball pythons in the basement and a jungle carpet python upstairs. All survived the fire in good shape, as did several turtles.
“The owner is in contact with us,” said Todd Menard, an animal control officer with Niagara Region Animal Services. “Unfortunately, there is a bill that has to be paid. They can get the animals back, and we want them to go back, but we are a temporary facility.
“If they can’t claim them they can be adopted under the city bylaw because the snakes are under two metres.”