Susie Kockerscheidt
Firefighters battle a blaze as neighbours look on at this fire on Natanya Boulevard in Keswick Monday afternoon. Fire crews from Keswick and Sutton battled the blaze that started at about 2:30 p.m. The occupants were at home, but were able to escape without injury.
Georgina
May 07, 2008 07:40 PM
By: John Slykhuis
A Keswick family is left picking up the pieces after their home was destroyed by a fire Monday afternoon.
The home, on Natanya Boulevard in Keswick, was completely destroyed.
Georgina firefighters from Keswick and Sutton stations responded to the blaze just after 2:30 p.m.
The two-storey, single family home was fully engulfed by flames when crews arrived on scene, deputy fire chief Steve Richardson said.
Occupants of the house, a mother and her grown daughter, had been alerted by the smoke alarm and escaped without injury.
They wept as they watched the blaze rip through their home.
It is believed the fire started in or around a vehicle parked in the garage.
At one point, as the flames erupted through the roof, firefighters inside were ordered to evacuate.
“We were inside to attack the fire, but it moved quickly into the attic and through the roof.
“There was a real danger of it collapsing, so we pulled out and went into a defensive mode,” Mr. Richardson said. “We had it under control in about 40 minutes.”
Firefighters also battled successfully to keep the fire from spreading to other homes in the quiet residential neighbourhood in Keswick’s north end.
One home next door had damage to part of its roof and wall. Thick black smoke from the fire could be seen from several kilometres away.
Damage is estimated at $350,000.
The homeowners are fully insured.
Georgina firefighters also responded to a garage fire last Saturday night on Lake Drive in Keswick.
The blaze destroyed three classic cars, including a 1964 Chevelle, 1979 Corvette and 1979 TransAm.