A fire last week destroyed a home west of the Village of Vankleek Hill.
Firefighters from the St-Bernardin and St-Isidore village fire departments in The Nation Municipality arrived on the scene first after receiving reports around 10:30 p.m. of a house fire last Tuesday night, January 27. The location of the fire was 1250 Concession 2/Caledonia Road, between the intersections of Claude Duval Sideroad and Lalonde Sideroad.
Fire crews from the two stations launched an aggressive attack on burning building but had to switch to a defensive strategy. Firefighters from the Vankleek Hill Station in Champlain Township arrived on the scene to assist The Nation fire crews.
Firefighters worked through the night to bring the fire under control. An excavator was brought in around 5 a.m. to assist fire crews with extinguishing the blaze, which destroyed the basement, main floor, and attic area of the house.
No firefighters or any of the residents of the house were injured. Investigation of the cause of the fire is ongoing but the fire itself is not considered suspicious.
All homeowners are reminded to make sure they have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors installed in their homes and to check the devices on a regular basis, including installing new batteries at least twice a year.
