Blaze guts home
Posted By JASON BAIN, LINDSAY POST MANAGING EDITOR
Updated 2 months ago
Firefighters rescued a man via a basement window as a semi-detached William Street North home was gutted in a $300,000 early Tuesday morning blaze that officials believe began in a front vestibule.
The tenant in one of the units was sleeping when a neighbour alerted him of fire, Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue Service assistant chief Mark Pankhurst said as officials waited for an Ontario Fire Marshal's Office investigator.
With other escape routes blocked by flames, the man went to a rear basement window where Lindsay Division Capt. Terry Jones pulled him to safety, Pankhurst said.
The man was the only occupant of the unit. The other unit was not occupied. A couple had moved out of it a couple of weeks ago, neighbours said.
Firefighters called from halls in Lindsay, Ops and Cameron about 5:13 a. m. arrived to find much of the building fully ablaze.
Officials believe the fire started on the outside of the building in the front vestibule. Because the origin of the fire is suspicious in nature, they contacted the provincial authorities to assist in the probe, Pankhurst said.
An estimated $250,000 in damage was caused to the building and another $50,000 to its contents.
William Street was closed between Orchard Park Drive and Found Avenue until mid-afternoon for the investigation. Using the Bronto Skylift aerial truck, municipal police and Fire Marshal's Office investigators took pictures from above the scene early in the afternoon. The on-scene probe wrapped up the same day.
The fire service will now wait for a report from the provincial authority, which could take three to six months, assistant chief Ron Raymer said on Thursday.
jbain@thepost.ca
