“It was a beautiful home, and a big house, too.”
Hierlihy had last driven by the Hebron Road summer home Friday night, so he was surprised to learn on Sunday that the house had burned to the ground.
“It’s just a shame,” he said.
An old farmhouse had been renovated and extensively added to around 2001. For a while it was used as a year-round residence. It was subsequently purchased by an Ontario resident a few years ago and used as a summer home. The new owner continued with upgrades to the property and had listed it for sale this year.
“Tons of people looked at it this fall,” Hierlihy said, a testament to the quality of the home.
Neighbours aren’t sure when the house burned, but, Hierlihy speculates it might have happened Friday night. The dirt section of the Hebron Road is not heavily traveled at this time of year, he said in explaining how the loss might have gone unnoticed. There is significantly more traffic during the summer months due to the number of seasonal properties in the area.
The house was located on a hill up a farm lane.
From the Hebron end of the road, the Hierlihys, at a kilometer and a half away, are the closest neighbours. From the Milo end, a summer cottage a kilometer away is the closest structure.
RCMP are investigating the suspicious fire, said Corporal Jerrie MacLeod. Like the O’Leary Fire Department, the RCMP were notified of the loss on Sunday.
O’Leary and West Point fire departments responded late Sunday to a report of a flare-up, but O’Leary fire chief Blair Perry said there was no fire when they arrived and nothing but the concrete basement remaining.
“With that strong wind, it would take no time (for the house to burn),” he said. The Hebron fire was the fourth suspicious structure fire the O’Leary Department responded to in a month.
“This is pretty serious,” Perry commented.
On September 23 the O’Leary Fire Department was summoned to a house fire in O’Leary. Police had responded to a report of a disturbance there and observed the fire upon arrival. An individual has been charged with arson. Later that same night the O’Leary department responded to a report of a fire at an abandoned Ramsay Road house in Glenwood. Both that fire and one last week that destroyed an abandoned house in Mount Royal are considered the work of arsonists. No one has been charged. There was also an attempt made two weeks ago to burn the gazebo at Leard’s Pond.
Hierlihy, who has experienced thefts and vandalism on his property and is aware of other incidents in the area, expressed hope police will actively investigate the house fire.
Cpl. MacLeod said police are contacting neighbours and are looking to talk to anyone who might have seen suspicious activity in the area on the weekend.
