‘We may never know for sure’

Cause of devastating Kings County fire may never be known: chief

An unoccupied home on Rawding Road was destroyed after a devastating fire late Dec. 17 in Whites Corner.

Waterville fire chief Wayne Johnstone says road conditions were “nasty” at the time the call came in around 11 p.m. The inclement weather meant a delayed arrival to the scene.

He says the fire was fully involved by the time firefighters arrived but was under complete control after a defensive fire attack from outside that lasted for around 45 minutes.

“It was pretty well burning from top to bottom, but we had it under control relatively quickly. We then spent another couple of hours dealing with hotspots,” he says.

Mutual aid was provided at the scene by Kentville, Berwick and Aylesford volunteer fire departments.

Johnstone says the house appeared unoccupied but not abandoned, and “wasn’t completely empty even though no one was living there at the time of the fire.”

The house has been confirmed as a complete loss.

While power was still on in the building, Johnstone says it doesn’t necessarily mean the cause of the fire was electrical. He says this is “only a possibility at this point” since a specific cause has not been officially determined.

Johnstone says the fire marshal has not assessed the scene. The fire chief also says the level of damage at the scene could mean no cause is ever determined.

“With that much devastation, and no safe environment to get into, it’s one of those ones we may never know for sure,” says Johnstone.