It was one of the worst kinds of surprises.
No one was home when firefighters quickly contained a house fire in the Appleyard subdivision during the afternoon of Friday, Dec. 18, but not before it caused substantial damage.
Darcy Calkins, who lives with her family in a nearby home, was one of the first people to notice smoke.
About five or six minutes before 3 p.m., after firefighters were called, Calkins rushed to the door of the two-storey home to try and rouse any residents inside.
However, no one came and she noticed the doors were locked.
She said she was shocked with how fast the blaze progressed, appearing to start as a small fire on the deck above the garage.
“It went from a little fire on the deck to the whole side of deck to the whole side of the house,” she said, estimating it took only a couple of minutes.
No damage estimates or the possible cause of the residential fire were available at press time.
