Fire destroys home in Alnwick/Haldimand Township

Five people managed to escape after fire ripped through a house in Alnwick/Haldimand Township on Tuesday night.

Firefighters were called to an address on Dunette Landing Road in the community of Roseneath near Rice Lake around 8:45 p.m. Upon arrival, township firefighters discovered a fully involved fire at a two-storey home. Firefighters say five occupants got out of the home safely.

Kelsey Greer, 20, said she and her family had just finished eating dinner when her mother started showing some photos. That’s when the lights suddenly flickered.

“It was raining so didn’t think anything much of it,” said Greer.

She said her mother’s boyfriend heard her a noise and discovered the back porch was on fire. That’s when they called 911.

“Me and my sister’s boyfriend were trying to get the fire extinguisher working but the pin was broken,” said Greer. “So I just grabbed my laptop and we just ran outside.”

Greer said the fire spread in a hurry.

“By the time we got to the other side of the driveway the rest of the house was just on fire – it happened in just 10 minutes,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "By the time we got to the other side of the driveway the rest of the house was just on fire - it happened in just 10 minutes," she said.

Greer says she has a place to stay in Peterborough but her mom is still trying to figure out where she will stay. The family lost everything in the fire.

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“We just have the clothes that we are wearing – I didn’t even have shoes,” said Greer. “I’m wearing someone’s else’s shoes right now. We don’t have anything. We have our phones and our laptops and whatever was in our cars because we got those.”

Alnwick/Haldimand Township Fire Department Chief Mark Diminie said crews endured strong winds and noted a metal roof hindered firefighting operations. The department received assistance from the Hamilton Township Fire Department to battle the blaze.

Diminie said there were concerns the flames were going to spread as embers landed on a couple of nearby homes and a garage.

The house was destroyed and the cause of the blaze has yet to be determined.

A damage estimate is unavailable.