Tatamagouche property that had huge barn fire 1 year ago now has house fire
A Tatamagouche, N.S., property where four barns burned down a year ago suffered another loss on Saturday when a two-storey home at the site suffered extensive damage in a fire.
The Tatamagouche Fire Department received a call about the fire shortly before noon from a passerby who saw smoke coming out of the eaves.
Fire Chief Ian MacDonald said the fire was probably burning for much longer than that at the two-storey home.
He said nobody was inside the house, which is likely a writeoff.
Fire crews from other departments helped out
Around 40 to 50 firefighters battled the fire, which was finally put out around 5 p.m. MacDonald said around 75,000 litres of water was used and crews from River John, Wallace, Kemptown-Valley and North River assisted in the firefighting efforts.
"The fire was pretty much on the first floor at the time, but it kind of spread as the afternoon went on," said MacDonald.
"We needed a lot of help to get it under control."
Difficult fire to fight
Extensive renovations done to the home over the years made it difficult to fight the fire.
"They're always tricky when they have a piece built on and a wall over a wall. It just makes things hard to get to," said MacDonald.
He said the firefighting efforts were labour intensive and necessitated "a lot of pulling down [of] inside walls and ceilings."
In October 2016, four barns were destroyed at the same property in a massive fire. At that time, the home was being rented to a family of Syrian refugees. MacDonald said they no longer live on the property.
