A home at Murray Street and Park Avenue in Brantford was heavily gutted by fire early Thursday morning.
Multiple calls came in to fire dispatch at 4:09 a.m., and three fire stations responded to the scene.
“A command unit, three pumpers, and an aerial responded,” Acting Deputy Chief Tom Smith told The Expositor late Thursday afternoon.
“The flames were visual, and firefighters went into a defensive attack… which means we don’t enter. We did that because the occupant was out of the building (after) hearing the smoke detectors.”
Smith said firefighters did an excellent job of protecting exposures, so there was no extension to nearby residences.
Fire personnel remained on scene throughout the day, including through a shift change, which the deputy chief said presents a tactical challenge to rotate crews and trucks while maintaining service readiness throughout the city.
Smith said it’s difficult to estimate the cost of damage to the home because personnel didn’t enter the house due to the roof having fallen in.
Murray Street was closed for several hours Thursday between Mary Street and Park Avenue.