A man from Lark Harbour was on his way home Wednesday afternoon when he was stopped on the road by someone who told him they’d seen smoke coming out of his house.
When he reached his Main Street home the man attempted to get in the basement but couldn’t.
Shortly after the York Harbour/Lark Harbour Volunteer Fire Department showed up.
Fire Chief Paul MacDonald said they got the call at around 1:15 p.m.
MacDonald and two other members were the first to arrive and were joined by a fourth member. The South Shore Volunteer Fire Department, which serves the communities that make up Humber Arm South, also responded from Benoit’s Cove to provide backup.
“When we got there, there was some smoke billowing out from the eaves,” said MacDonald.
The firefighters couldn’t see flames at the time.
“I sort of thought that the fire was mostly confined to the roof itself,” MacDonald said, but he couldn’t be sure.
When they went to the south side of the building, MacDonald said they could tell that’s where the fire started because of the look of the windows and the heat that was coming through the patio door.
Most of the heat was centred around the panel box and furnace area of the home.
“We got in so far, we really couldn’t see nothing. It was complete blackness, darkness.”
It was pretty windy in the area at that hampered the efforts of the firefighters for a bit.
“Luckily it did drop out, because if it didn’t it could have been a lot worse than what it was,” he said, especially with two other homes only about 30 feet away.
MacDonald said it would only be speculation on his part to comment on the cause of the fire. However, he did say damage to the home is extensive.
“It’s pretty much a write-off.”
The homeowner has received assistance from the Canadian Red Cross.
According to a news release from the Red Cross it arranged emergency purchases of food and clothing for the man who has found alternate accommodations.
