Everyone is safe after a house fire in Callander yesterday, but unfortunately, the home is a total loss.
Todd Daley, the Chief of Callander’s Fire and Emergency Services, explained, “We’re attributing the cause to unattended cooking.” He added, “One of the most significant causes of residential structure fires is unattended cooking.”
He said the call came in around 5 p.m. last evening for a structure fire in the South Shore area of the municipality. Out of respect for the homeowner’s privacy, he did not want to name the road.
The Chief explained, “When we arrived on scene the building, it was a two-story wood frame family residence, was fully involved. Top to bottom, front to back, side to side. It’s a total loss.”
Everybody got out of the building safely, and none of the firefighters were injured fighting the flames. About 13 firefighters came from Callander, and Chief Daley called the fire department in Nipissing Township for some more help. Nipissing sent another five firefighters and a tanker.
After arriving on scene shortly after 5 p.m. the firefighters battled the blaze until just after 11 p.m., when the fire was finally extinguished. By the time the crew got everything cleaned up and put away, it was 1 p.m.
Chief Daley noted the department doesn’t receive many calls to structure fires, and “This is the first structure fire we’ve had this year,” Chief Daley said.