Flames were shooting 20 feet into the air when emergency crews arrived on scene of a major house fire in the city’s north-west end Wednesday afternoon.
A neighbour of the Leyton Crescent home made the call at around 12 p.m. noon. District Fire Chief Al Braatz says crews encountered thick black turbulent smoke reaching 50 feet into the air, and tall flames which appeared to be coming through the rough at first glance.
“It ended up being the whole back end of the structure,” explained Braatz.
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A homeowner was around at the time but escaped the blaze unscathed. Braatz said he was standing on the front lawn when crews arrived, looking “rather shocked.”
After bringing the man to safety, Braatz said the homeowner told crews he’d been doing work in the backyard with a propane-based tool. He’d gone back inside his home when he heard popping noises, and noticed the flames.
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“It was very hard to extinguish,” said Braatz. The entire back of the home was engulfed in fire, which spread to other void spaces of the structure. An aerial unit was called in to ventilate the attic and search for hidden fires, while crews switched between offensive and defensive approaches.
“For some reason, what was going on inside the house kept feeding the back there. And finally once we got it down… we were able to get in and go from there.”
Braatz says it took several hours for crews to knock back the flames, and there were up to 50 firefighters on scene. Meanwhile, Wednesday’s high temperatures posed another challenge.
“The heat factor caused a big factor for us. Changing out crews, having enough water on scene… even now it’s hard for them to be fully in service because we want to make sure they’re fully rehabed and fresh and ready to continue their shift.
Although he wasn’t able to comment whether the home was totally destroyed, Braatz described the damage as significant. As for what triggered the blaze, Braatz says it’s cause is under investigation.
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