Cambridge, Ontario Pump 1, Aerial 2, Tanker 1, Rescue 1, and Car 6 were dispatched for a house fire at 6571 Ellis Road November 27 2017 at 2:30. A smoke detector alerted the resident who was able to get out safely with his dog. Cambridge covers this portion of Wellington County under contract. A2 arrived on scene reporting a fully involved bungalow with no exposures. A2 pulled into the driveway and pulled multiple lines. Puslinch fire was dispatched to the scene once Cambridge reported the working fire.
Port-a-tanks were set up on the road and water was relayed into A2. Puslinch responded with two pumpers, two tankers, a 75’ quint, and a heavy rescue. Two additional tankers were requested from Rockwood fire. Water was shuttled from a hydrant in Cambridge approximately a mile and a half from the scene. Firefighters worked for over an hour to knock the fire down.
Photos were taken 40 minutes into the incident. Box 690 provided rehab. This was the second time in a week that we had back to back serious fires. This was our third fire in less than 12 hours having done a kitchen fire in Waterloo the previous afternoon, and a Wellesley fire later in the evening.
A Walterboro (SC) family lost their home to an early morning fire Monday, 17-Oct. The fire was reported to 9-1-1 at 02:38 when the family went to a neighbor’s home to ask for help. Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue units arrived 8 minutes later to find the single-story dwelling fully involved. All occupants had safely exited the structure.
The home was located well off the roadway and Engine 19 backed down the long driveway. A supply line was stretched to the road so tenders could supply the engine. Firefighter-Paramedics deployed multiple handlines to combat the fire. A blitzfire device was set up in the back of the residence. A second alarm was issued shortly after arrival for additional tenders and personnel.
Crews had the bulk of the fire knocked down within 30 minutes, but were on the scene five hours. The rear of the building was destroyed, with much of the interior being gutted. Most personal items were lost. The home was originally a singlewide mobile home that had been doubled in size and had a roof installed over the original building. This hampered extinguishment due to the multiple walls, ceilings, and double roof. The fire appears to have started in the area of the kitchen in the original structure, which spread to the attic space and into the newer addition. Water supply was handled with a tender shuttle from a pressurized hydrant four blocks from the scene. The Red Cross is assisting the family. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Engine 1, Engine 19, Tender 1, Tender 9, Tender 19, Tender 26, Medic 1, Medic 9, Medic 19, Battalion 1, Car 12 and Car 118 responded. Battalion Chief Scott O’Quinn served as Incident Commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
Kitchener fire dispatch received a 911 call reporting a barn on fire on Shantz Station Road near Vance Road in Woolwich Township, Ontario, March 2 2016 at 12:30. Breslau, Maryhill, Conestogo, and St Jacobs were dispatched to the call. Dispatch updated units on route that they had a call from the Regional Airport tower, located just west of the scene, reporting a barn and possibly house on fire.
Maryhill district chief reported a large loom up on the way to the call and requested Elmira’s tanker to the scene. Breslau’s pumper tanker arrived on scene reporting a fully involved building with a small barn and house as serious exposures. Firefighters pulled numerous 1.5” and a 2.5” lines to fight the fire and protect exposures. Maryhill’s pumper set up on the road for tanker operations and relay pumping to Breslau’s pumper.
The house caught fire due to radiant heat, but crews were able to knock it down quickly. More than 30 firefighters worked for two hours before knocking the fire down. Woolwich firefighters made a very good save at this fire. The barn had minimal damage, and the rear section of the home can be repaired. The main section of the century old home was saved with no damage. Box 690 provided rehab for the call. The first photo was shot before crews pulled their first line.
Puslinch, Ontario firefighters were toned out for a horse barn fire at 6923 Concession 1, January 4 at 23:00. The barn was one of four large barns on the property, home to 43 Standardbred race horses. The barn was fully-involved on arrival. Workers on-scene reported they couldn’t get any of the horses from the barn. More than 50 firefighters from three counties responded to the scene. Eight tankers shuttled approximately 200,000 Canadian gallons of water from two hydrants in Cambridge, approximately six miles from the scene. Box 690 provided rehab for the fire. The fire was the largest fire loss in Puslinch history. An initial damage figure is four to six million dollars. The Ontario Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of the fire.
A large Ruffin (SC) home was destroyed in an evening fire Saturday 24-October. At 21:38, off-duty Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue Deputy Chief Greene and his family were returning from a church function, driving east on Bells Highway (SC Hwy 64), when Chief Greene saw a large fire across a field located behind the Ruffin Farm Supply. He notified Central Communications over his portable radio and began trying to locate an access to the fire. After a few minutes he determined the home was off the end of Smokey Bear Lane, a private dirt road east of Ruffin Farm Supply. The approximately 3700-square-foot home was fully-involved and the roof had already collapsed. Engine 18 arrived minutes later and deployed a deck gun and multiple 2-1/2 and 1-3/4 handlines in an effort to knock down the fire and protect two exposures, a stable containing horses and a storage building, near the residence.
Barry W. McRoy photo
Barry W. McRoy photo
A second alarm was issued shortly after arrival. A water shuttle operation was established for water supply, using a drop-tank and eight, 3000-gallon tenders. Water was obtained from a pressurized hydrant located at Bells Crossroads about ¾ mile from the scene. Engine 23 was later set up on the “B” side of the building and used its deck gun and one handline. Engine 23 was supplied through 3-inch lines from two tenders. Crews worked for 35 minutes to contain the blaze, hampered by 40-foot sheets of metal roofing which had to be removed to reach the fire underneath.
Barry W. McRoy photo
Barry W. McRoy photo
Units were on the scene for over three hours performing overhaul. The home was a total loss, but no injuries were reported. The fire appears to have started in the area of the clothes dryer. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Barry W. McRoy photo
Engine 10, Engine 18, Engine 15, Engine 23, Tender 4, Tender 7, Tender 15, Tender 17, Tender 18, Tender 23, Tender 26, Tender 27, Medic 13, Medic 18, Medic 26, Battalion 1 and Car 12 responded. Deputy Chief David Greene served as Incident Commander.
A home located at 601 Enoch Road was heavily damaged by an electrical fire Tuesday evening 02-December. The incident was reported at 17:40 when the family smelled smoke in the home. Upon investigating the smell, they found smoke at the ceiling level of the master bedroom and called 9-1-1.
Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue Engine 31 arrived minutes later to find heavy smoke conditions and flames visible from a window at the front of the residence. Firefighters deployed multiple handlines and entered the structure through the front door. They encountered heavy fire conditions and issued a second alarm.
Firefighters knocked down the fire in the living area from the front hallway, but had problems reaching the fire in the attic. The older wood frame home had several additions, with layers of sheet rock over tongue and groove as well as two roof additions covered with metal. Approximately 25 minutes passed before the fire was brought under control, however overhaul took several hours.
The family was able to safely exit the building. Investigators determined the fire originated near an electrical junction box in the attic over the master bedroom. Fire-Rescue responded to the same residence two weeks earlier for a similar incident with a shorted electrical box over one of the additions near the rear of the home. The Charleston Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the family.
Engine 4, Engine 10, Engine 18, Engine 31, Tender 1, Tender 4, Tender 13, Tender 15, Tender 26, Tender 27, Tender 29, Medic 18, Medic 26, Battalion 1, Car 12, and Car 107 responded. Battalion Chief Dan Barb served as incident commander.
Photos by Harold Buzzell
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
An Oakman Branch family was displaced after their home was destroyed in a late afternoon house fire, Friday evening 09-January. At 16:38, a caller reported the back of the home at 11138 Augusta Highway was ablaze. Colleton County (SC) Firefighters arrived to the rural community near I-95 eleven minutes later to find the 4,800 square foot, two-story house fully involved. A second alarm was issued shortly after arrival and a portion of the roof collapsed within two minutes of Engine 26 arriving on the scene. Firefighters used a truck mounted deck gun, deployed a ground monitor, a 2-1/2 handline, and multiple 1-3/4 handlines to combat the fire. A tender shuttle was established for water supply since no fire hydrants were in the area.
A third alarm was issued for additional tenders and personnel approximately ten minutes after arrival. The main structure collapsed nine minutes later. The fire was contained within 35 minutes and was under control approximately an hour later. Firefighters remained on the scene for six hours performing overhaul. Nine of Fire-Rescue’s 3,000-gallon tenders shuttled water for four hours.
The home owner advised he started a fire in the home’s fireplace. It was the first time they had used the fireplace since the home was constructed 15 years prior. Approximately 15 minutes later he saw flames through a window on the rear of the home. Upon investigating he found the back of the house and roof were on fire. He was able to evacuate everyone from the home safely and notify 9-1-1. No one was injured during the incident and the American Red Cross is assisting the family. Off-duty personnel were called in to back fill some stations.
Engine 13, Engine 17, Engine 19, Engine 26, Tender 5, Tender 6, Tender 7, Tender 9, Tender 18, Tender 19, Tender 26, Tender 27, Tender 32, Rescue 1, Medic 18, Medic 26, Battalion 1, Car 12, Car 118, Car 105, Car 107 responded. Battalion Chief Ben Heape served as incident commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
