The Eganville Leader - Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Page A1
Postal Agreement # 40005333
Gunnar Sterne wins back-to-back Bonnechere Cup races See Pages B1 and B2
123rd Year - No 27
Wednesday, Februay 5, 2025
Family of four displaced in Pembroke-area fire
A fire just before midnight Friday completely destroyed a two-storey home at 88 Elm Street in Laurentian Valley Township, displacing a family of four. The fire apparently started in the carport and quickly spread to the house. Firefighters battled the blaze in -28C temperatures when factoring in the wind chill that night. Photos: Mike Yeas
By Terry Fleurie Staff Writer Laurentian Valley Township – A family of four from Laurentian Valley (LV) Township was displaced over the weekend as fire ravaged their home just before midnight on Friday. Fire Chief Tim Sutcliffe said the department was dispatched to a structure fire at 88 Elm Street at 11:57 p.m. and responded with 14 personnel, a pumper, two tankers and an emergency vehicle. When firefighters arrived on scene, the carport at the one end of the two-storey frame home was totally engulfed in flames. “There was a carport on the end of it and it was gone already,” he said. “That’s how the owner realized her house was on fire. “She looked out the window and saw the glow from the carport,” he added. “She just happened to be up, heard a couple of bangs, looked out the window, and saw the glow.” She immediately helped evacuate her husband and two children. “They got out in the nick of time,” Chief Sutcliffe said. He said the carport and two vehicles inside were destroyed, and the fire had spread into the attic of the home. “It just went across the top of the house like crazy. We couldn’t get ahead of it,” he explained. “We tried to go inside when we first got there to cut it off, and the
floors were already soft.” He said there were no neighbouring structures threatened. It was a bitterly cold night, with the temperature hovering around minus 17 at the time of the fire, and the wind chill making it more like minus 28. “It was not a good night, that’s for sure. We didn’t have any major problems with freezing, but we had to be very careful with what we did. “We had to keep everything going all the time to stop from freezing,” he added. “By morning, it was very cold when there were no flames left, and we were just hitting hot spots.” Some members of the department had to sit in vehicles at times to get
warm, while others had to return to the fire hall for a change of gear as they were covered in ice, which made it very difficult to just move around. The area around the fire also got very icy, he said. Water from the hydrant at Home Depot was hauled to the address. The cause of the fire is unknown, but is not considered suspicious. The parents of the displaced family live across the street, so occupants of the home had a place to go. Chief Sutcliffe said the owners were insured, adding he heard a fundraiser for the family that was already underway was proving to be quite successful.
15th annual Civitan fish derby sets a record
Some 500 fishermen set up their huts and lines early Saturday morning for the 15th annual Cobden Civitan Fish Derby. More than 1,400 tickets were sold for the event which featured thousands of dollars in prizes as well as $25,000 in donations to local organizations. See story on Page A6.