No one was injured but a family of seven lost their home and all their belongings in a house fire on the Fourth Line, just east of Conestogo Lake, on Jan. 20.
The fire was reported by a neighbour who saw a red glow around 8:15pm, said Mapleton Fire Chief Rick Richardson, who was the first one on the scene. He added the house was engulfed in flames when he arrived.
“There were flames coming out three sides in the upstairs and three sides in the downstairs so basically all the exposed sides of the house had flames coming out, including the basement, so it was fully-involved for sure.
“The guy who called it in was there with his pickup truck. He had towed the vehicles, trucks that were at the house, back from the house. But he did tell me that there was a family that lived in there, but it wasn’t confirmed that they weren’t there.”
A tense few minutes later, Richardson said firefighters learned the family – two parents and their five young children – was safe.
“A neighbor contacted them for us and they were on their way here together, they were all in the van together so nobody was in the house,” said Richardson.
He noted firefighters, including Mapleton’s Drayton and Moorefield stations and a tanker crew from Floradale, then focused on preventing the fire from spreading to a nearby pig barn and vehicles.
“As more water became available, we put more water on the house to douse it down,” he said, adding firefighters were on the scene until around 1am. The house was insured, but Richardson said the contents were not. The family, who were tenants, lost everything in the blaze. He said community efforts to assist the family are already underway.
While not able to put a dollar figure on the damage, Richard said the house and contents were a total loss.
Richardson said the fire was accidental.
Earlier in the evening he said Hydro One crews were working in the area and had shut off the power to several homes on the road. A stove had been left on during the power outage and came back on when power was restored.
Donations to assist the family are being coordinated through Maranatha Mennonite Church, Drayton.
Richardson said the community has already responded with donations of clothing and other essentials.
“They are moving into a house that was offered to them with some furniture and appliances already there,” he noted.
Richardson also said funds are being set up to accept donations at Royal Banks in Drayton and Elmira.
