None hurt in La Broquerie house fire
"It could have been a lot worse."
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This article was published 27/04/2020 (1966 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
No one was injured Monday in a fire that caused extensive damage to a two-storey home in the RM of La Broquerie.
Crews were dispatched at 4:35 p.m. to what they thought was a garage fire at a rural residence along Road 36N, just east of Hazelwood Lane.
“When we got there, it was a full-blown house fire,” La Broquerie Fire Chief Alain Nadeau said.
A tanker from Giroux was called in to assist the abatement effort. Richer and Steinbach fire departments were also dispatched and placed on standby at the scene.
Nadeau said fire started in an unattended meat smoker then spread to a nearby barrel of used engine oil.
“The barrel just exploded and it shot the whole side of the house.”
A portion of the home lacked exterior cladding and the exposed Styrofoam insulation quickly ignited.
Nadeau said children outside the home alerted the homeowner, who was inside showering when the fire spread.
The man rushed outside and began extinguishing a grass fire before noticing the oil barrel.
“Right away after he backed off it blew,” Nadeau said. “Good thing he spotted it. It could have been a lot worse.”
Nadeau estimated damages at approximately $200,000 and said the Office of the Fire Commissioner is investigating.