MILFORD: A detached residential garage was destroyed with a gazebo, truck, and deck slightly scorched in a late-night fire on Jan. 9 in Milford.
At approximately 10 p.m., 30 firefighters from Milford fire; along with mutual aid assistance from Shubenacadie; Nine Mile River; Lantz; Elmsdale; and Enfield fire responded to a report of a fire at a residence on Milford Road.
“Milford Engine arrived and there was a 30 x 30 garage fully involved with a residential structure approximately 20-30 feet beside it,” said Milford Captain Kenneth Moxsom in a statement issued to The Laker News. “The gazebo and deck were starting to catch between the house and garage.”
Milford fire chief Brad Munro was first on scene and took command.
“We pulled two attack lines, one began focusing efforts on the gazebo and patio deck in order to protect the residential structure, while the second line focused on the garage,” said Moxsom.
He said firefighters from Milford and Shubenacadie dragged a small pop-up camper trailer away from the garage to minimize damage to it from the garage and wood pile that was also on fire.
“Some of the gazebo and deck sustained damage, and a portion of the camper sustained minor heat damage,” said Moxsom. “Due to the intense heat, the windows on the end of the house nearest the garage was cracked which prompted us to verify there was no extension into the house itself from radiant heat. “
A truck owned by the occupants also sustained some heat damage before it was moved away from the garage by the homeowner when they initially noticed the fire.
Inside the garage were tools and a side by side which were unfortunately a loss, said Moxsom.
“The homeowner also lost their stockpile of winter firewood that was beside the garage,” he said.
No one was injured and all occupants and pets were out, according to the scanner chatter from the call.
Moxsom said there no major issues in dealing with the fire that were not easily overcome.
“The wind was in our favour as it was pushing flames away from the house,” said Moxsom.
One of the homeowners made a post thanking firefighter for their response.
“Thank you to the first responders that came last night, said Jennifer Cumben in the comment on a thread on the fire on East Hants Wants To Know. “Thank you to our next-door neighbor who came to help, and a fire fighter who was just passing by.”
Firefighters were on scene for approximately three hours.
The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time, said Moxsom.
