A Breslau house was completely engulfed in flames, early Friday morning, and reduced to rubble in a matter of moments. The house, which was under construction and unoccupied at the time of the fire, was on Woolwich Street South, between the intersections of Shields and Berlin streets.
No injuries were reported, though the neighbouring home was damaged in the heat.
“It was around 3:30 (a.m.), and both my wife and I just woke up with a start,” said next door neighbour Dan Battler. “Like, it shook our house. It was a big explosion in the garage I guess, I think that’s what happened. And it woke us up, and we went running around our house to see what happened first. Then she looked out the window and saw the flames, so we phoned 911 right away.”
Fire fighters spent the night combating blaze, and by the morning were going through the rubble of the burnt out structure. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
“Right now, it’s still under investigation,” said Woolwich Fire Chief Dale Martin, who could not confirm the point of origin of the fire. “It will probably be- the cause will be undetermined, just because of the amount of damage, there’s nothing left of the place.
“It was totally under construction, so nobody in the house, no hydro to the house,” he added. The house had no furniture either, limiting the damage to just the structure.
Upon arriving at the scene, fire fighters focused their efforts on preventing the flames from spreading to neighbouring properties. The fire warped the siding on Battler’s house and shattered windows facing the burning building, but the home was otherwise left relatively unharmed.
“When we got here, [the fire] was out through the roof already. The whole place was full of fire,” said Martin of the destroyed building. “There was nothing left to save here.”
