A Thursday dinner-time fire in a boarded up Willoughby house had Township fire officials concerned that was setting the tone for Halloween night.
The fire department was called just after 6 p.m. on Oct. 31 to the 20300 block of 82nd Avenue where they spent over four hours tackling the fire that destroyed the home set to be demolished to allow for redevelopment of the acreage, said Township deputy fire chief Monty Armstrong.
“We actually had two trucks out doing neighbourhood patrols, and handing out candy for the trick or treaters. So they were already in the area… so they were on scene rather quickly,” he said.
Six vehicles, a normal first alarm response for a structure fire, was required to fight the fire. The cause is not known.
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“The loss was extensive… It was boarded up,” he said. “We did have concern that there were people inside… no one was found last night. We’re still investigating it cooperation with the RCMP this morning.”
He said it could be Halloween related or related to people using the building for shelter.
:This was our major call,” he said. “Having it come in so early, we were really concerned that this was setting the tone for what the night was going to be like.”
No neighbouring properties were impacted.
“There were no exposures that we were worried about,” he said.
Extra fire department staff were put on call in case anything happened Halloween night which had a slightly higher call volume and a few mischief type callouts.
Armstrong said owners of properties with abandoned houses should take steps to prevent fires and other problems.
“The big thing is for people redeveloping the properties is to keep the property secure,” he said.
