ONE HOME DESTROYED, 2 DAMAGED IN FIRE

A mobile home fire in Beckwith has claimed the life of a cat after the pet suffered smoke inhalation.

"We tried to revive it, but it was too far gone," Beckwith Fire Department Fire Chief Bill McGonegal told the Canadian Gazette.

The owner of the mobile home was not injured, nor were any firefighters.

The fire broke out at 25 Oakwood Ave. around 3 p.m. on May 8.

Beckwith firefighters responding to the scene were told there was "a back shed on fire that was six feet from a structure," McGonegal said. "When we arrived on scene, the fire had spread to the back of the mobile home and was going up into the eave."

He initiated mutual aid, receiving assistance from fire departments in Mississippi Mills (tanker truck) and Carleton Place (six firefighters).

Neighbours told this newspaper they heard an explosion.

"The big propane tank in the back did not explode, but it blew off," McGonegal stated. "The flames went 20 feet into the air."

"You do not put that out, you leave it going," he continued. "It is safer to have it burning because it was not hurting nothing, and you do not have propane all over the place.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

McGonegal did not have a damage estimate at this time but indicated the mobile home will be a write off.

Firefighters were able to protect two neighbouring residences (side and rear); however, they sustained some damage (melted siding).

"It was a great save ... defensive attack," the chief expressed. "If those other two homes got started, the fire could have gone down the whole row."

McGonegal added: "We kept it under control. We had two hoses on those structures

and the rest of them on the fire."

Ontario Provincial Police and Lanark County Paramedic Service were also at the location.

The fire chief thanked all firefighters, in addition to police and ambulance, for "always working well together — 100 per cent."

Firefighters vacated the scene around 6 p.m.

CALLED BACK TO SCENE

The Beckwith Fire Department was called back to the scene on May 9.

"It was not a rekindling," McGonegal explained, despite the initial report. "It was steam not smoke."

However, as a precautionary measure, firefighters thoroughly doused the area with water.