Morning Fire Destroys Brookdale Home
No one was injured when fire destroyed a family home on the Pumping Station Road in Brookdale early this morning.
Amherst firefighters received the alarm just after 5:15 am. Fire Chief Greg Jones said when they arrived on the scene, about five kilometres south east of Amherst, they discovered a split-entry home engulfed in flames.
Jones confirmed nobody was in the house when they arrived and no one was injured.
Flames were shooting several metres out of the roof and through windows that had broken because of the heat of the blaze.
Two portable water tanks were kept filled by tanker trucks that shuttled back and forth to the closest fire hydrant about a kilometre away.
Firefighters from Truemanville, Shinimicas, and Leicester assisted.
The fire was so intense, an interior attack was not advisable. Instead, firefighters poured wet from outside, both front and back of the structure.
As flames rolled out of the roof and grey smoke billowed from the building, firefighters assisted a resident to remove a trailer that had been located very close to the house. The trailer didn’t appear to be damaged, despite the fact smoke appeared to be coming from it.
For a time, firefighters were hampered by live electrical wires that detached from the building with a bright flash and sparks. The live wires prevented crews from reaching a corner of the building until they were safely removed by a Truemanville firefighter who works for Nova Scotia Power.
A Nova Scotia Power crew also assisted to ensure the line from the road to the home was cut off from the power grid.
About 45 minutes into the fire, the building’s roof collapsed, making it even harder to get at the flames.
About 90 minutes into battling the blaze, firefighters were able to enter the home, but still had difficulty accessing the fire because it was under the collapsed roof.
As dawn came, the flames had disappeared, but dense grey smoke continued to pour from the building as firefighters continued to douse it.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Photos by Tom McCoag.
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