Unfinished homes in northwest London collapse after fire

Two homes that were under construction in the northwest end of London have collapsed following a fire early Friday morning.

Six fire trucks responded to the blaze on Lawson Road just past Sandbar Street shortly before 1:30 a.m.

District Fire Chief Scott Turnbull tells AM980 they were met with several challenges while working to extinguish the fire, but there were no injuries.

“We had two, fully involved, under construction homes upon our arrival. A number of issues, just as far as the new construction. The roads were not paved, we had a significant amount of mud and things to work around. Fire crews did a great job of deploying, we had to deploy to two sides of the structure, we couldn’t get directly in front of it based on the amount of heat and the amount of radiated heat from the fires that were so involved by the time that we got there.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We had two, fully involved, under construction homes upon our arrival. A number of issues, just as far as the new construction. The roads were not paved, we had a significant amount of mud and things to work around. Fire crews did a great job of deploying, we had to deploy to two sides of the structure, we couldn't get directly in front of it based on the amount of heat and the amount of radiated heat from the fires that were so involved by the time that we got there."

The two homes collapsed but crews prevented a third neighbouring home from sustaining significant damage.

Turnbull went on to say the job became more difficult after the unfinished homes collapsed into their basements, sheltering the flames.

It took crews about an hour to get the blaze under control, and firefighters also doused roofs of homes on nearby Reeve Street after the blaze sent embers into the air.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation and fire officials haven’t determined whether the fire is suspicious, but the home builder believes it was arson.

Val Bolieiro with Highview Homes said the unfinished homes along Lawson Road have been the target of several suspicious fires in recent weeks.

“This is the fourth time they’ve tried to set fires at this site,” Bolieiro said. “The first one, we contained it, it didn’t go anywhere, about a 6 by 6 hole in the ground, we just pulled out a sheet of plywood and that was the extent of it. The other one was just piles of fire, it didn’t amount to much, and then across the street, they tried to start fires in the bath tub as well, didn’t amount to much, but then I called police on Monday so they can beef up patrol in this area.”

Bolieiro said he’s considering enhancing security around the properties following the fires.

“We’re going to have to do something, either surveillance cameras or get a third party security company in there in monitor the site after crews got home,” he said.

A firm damage estimate has not been released but Turnbull anticipates that it will be close to $400,000.