Firefighters spent four hours battling a blaze that tore through a Centre Street home Tuesday afternoon.
The Flin Flon Fire Dept. was called to 192 Centre Street at 2:06 pm.
“The probable cause was electrical,” said Fire Chief Jim Petrie, pointing to the light fixture in the upstairs bathroom.
“Once we made entry into the backdoor, the main floor was clear of smoke and fire, same as the basement, but the roof was [heavily] engulfed with smoke and fire,” Petrie said.
Once firefighters got to the top floor there was already a hole from where the light fixture once was.
“And that’s the only place where the fire had burnt through into the main floor,” said Petrie.
Tuesday’s near -40° temperatures with the windchill made for a “miserable” fire call, Petrie said.
“There were heavy winds and it curved the flames big time,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the fire department, it could have gotten into the neighbours’ homes, but we contained it to one house.”
The older age of the house and its woodchip insulation resulted in a quick burn, Petrie said.
“We had to remove the entire ceiling area in the house. It was extremely hard for the boys to do, and they worked hard,” he said.
Not only did the temperatures work against the firefighters, Petrie said, it was also hard on the equipment.
“The equipment doesn’t last long on those types of [calls], but neither does the manpower because they tire really quickly,” he said.
Tuesday’s fire was the first major call in eight months for Flin Flon firefighters. Fourteen firefighters were on scene.
