A neighbour who spoke to the couple after they escaped their home said the man was watching television when he heard some crackling noises inside a nearby wall.
The couple then called 911 and left the home until the Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s volunteer fire department arrived on scene. The firefighters quickly connected hoses to a nearby fire hydrant and deployed lines down the long driveway to the home so they could fight the fire from inside the structure.
Sand also had to be spread on the icy driveway to prevent emergency personnel from falling and injuring themselves. The homeowners, in the meantime, took shelter inside one of the fire department’s pumper trucks as they watched the men and women work to save their home.
One firefighter was injured during the incident and treated in an ambulance by Eastern Health paramedics but his injuries did not appear serious.
The house sustained fire, smoke and water damage but the extent of the damage was not immediately available. An official on scene said fire investigators would be examining the scene Monday morning but added that the fire did not appear suspicious.
