WINDSOR JUNCTION: A fire that left a home in Windsor Junction “extensively damaged” could have spread to nearby homes if it hadn’t been caught as fast as it was, thanks to the quick action of a passing motorist who was first to spot the flames and call 911.
Vivian Collier, her husband Paul and daughter Sarah were on Windsor Junction Road at approximately 5:30 p.m. heading to Mount Uniacke where Sarah’s cadets corp was holding a Christmas mess dinner. Collier thought it looked foggy out despite it pouring rain.
“Paul said it smelled like smoke and then Sarah spotted the house by the entryway to the WJCC was on fire,” said Collier.
The family pulled off at Expressions of Wood, across the road from Community Centre Lane, and immediately called 911.
“Paul was out directing people to keep moving in their cars, and the back of the house was lit up,” she said . “The amount of heat coming from it you could feel from across the street and through the rain.
“It definitely was directly outside but not directly on the ground. The sparks from the fire looked like soft wood, how it sorta pops when it burns.”
She was left wondering how the flames could get so big and hot with the downpour of rain that was happening.
Collier stayed on the line with 911 until the operator said it was okay to let her go. They tried to help keep people at bay while at the scene as emergency crews responded.
“We tried to keep people back as much as we could,” she said. “Once the fire trucks were in sight we carried on our way to Mt. Uniacke.”
Lloyd Currie, District chief for District 3 with Halifax Fire, said firefighters from Quint 9 (Metropolitan Ave. Sackville); Station 10 (Lower Sackville); Station 45 (Fall River); Station 43 (Grand Lake); Station 42 (Wellington); Station 41 (Waverley); and Tac 48 (Beaver Bank) responded to the call.
”Upon arrival there was heavy fire on the back side of the house,” said Currie on Saturday night, Dec. 14. “The first arriving crews deployed a line to the rear of the structure and applied water to the exterior knocking it down relatively quick.”
He said while that was happening other fire crews made their way inside to check for extension and obtain all clears.
“They found fire in the attic which they extinguished,” he said. “The house is extensively damaged.”
Currie said there was no injuries and no one was home at the time of fire.
Fire investigators were on scene for most of the day on Sunday Dec. 15 investigating. Tac 48 held the scene overnight until they arrived.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Currie said.
