Luckily no one was injured in the blaze, as the family was out of province when the fire broke out, said Wellington Fire Department’s Desmond Arsenault.
His department was first on scene, responding to a call that came in around 12:30 a.m. The Miscouche and Tyne Valley fire departments were later called in to provide backup.
“Most of our members were on scene,” said Arsenault. “When our initial attack crew got there they saw the flames were coming out through the roof. It was fully engulfed. That’s when we called Tyne Valley and Miscouche for backup.
“It was great to have them there because we were able to knock down the flames considerably and get to the point of origin,” he added. “With their help, we were actually able to focus on the area of concern.”
It was a difficult fire to knock down, taking almost four hours to completely extinguish, said Arsenault.
At one point, there were almost 40 firefighters on scene battling the fire and 12 trucks from the three fire departments.
“It is a total loss. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be saved,” said Arsenault. “It was fairly modern (mini home) with an addition on the back. When the flame gets in there it is usually too hot that we can’t actually go inside. We had to wait until it actually burned through the roof a bit to really attack the flames.
“You really have to get to the source of where the hot spots are to get to the flames and knock down the flames. There were a few stubborn spots where we couldn’t get to the flames.”
Midday Tuesday, Arsenault said he and Chief Chris Arsenault had yet to speak to the family, adding he was uncertain whether the home and its contents were insured.
Arsenault, who is also a member of the Red Cross, said that organization would provide 72-hour emergency assistance to the family, giving them a temporary place to stay if needed, clothing and food to get them through the next couple of days.
Tuesday, a representative of the provincial fire marshal’s office was on scene to investigate the cause of the fire.
The results of that investigation are yet to be released.
