No one was injured after fire ripped through a century-old home just east of Grafton on Thursday afternoon.
Alnwick-Halidmand firefighters found the Thomas Road home engulfed when they arrived around 3 p.m. with “heavy flames” in the rear, noted fire chief Mark Diminie. The area is about seven kilometres east of Grafton.
The quick-spreading blaze required backup support from fighters from Cramhae, Brighton and Hamilton townships as crews were in defensive mode, Diminie explained.
“The age of the house made the timber very dry so we had a very fast-moving fire in the early stages before we were able to apply water,” he said. “We weren’t able to mount an interior attack or go offensive so we went right to a defensive attack.”
A neighbour saw the fire and called 911. He said the homeowner was in Peterborough at the time and that his dog ran into his yard, the fire chief said.
The fire destroyed the home, which was demolished by a work crew on Friday.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
It’s the third major structure fire in 10 days for Diminie’s crews following two fires in the Roseneath area. Both those fires are suspicious in nature.
“We with the distance apart, I’m not feeling they are connected in any way,” he said. “This one is still under investigation but it’s too early to say if it’s suspicious or accidentally. Now that walls have been knocked down we can get in and do more investigation.”
WATCH: Fire destroys historic home in Roseneath
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