Danielle and Greg Kaiser speak with a security guard as they look at the remnants of their home in London, Ontario on Sunday. Fire destroyed their house at 225 Hartson Place on Saturday afternoon. Damage was estimated at $1 million. The security guard was there to prevent anyone from entering the unstable structure.
DEREK RUTTAN/ The London Free Press /QMI AGENCY
Greg and Danielle Kaiser of London escaped with their lives but with little else in a fire that caused an estimated $1-million damage to their West London home.
On Sunday, the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office was investigating at the home at 225 Hartson Pl. and the home is now believed uninhabitable.
Neighbour Trudy Herbert said it seemed like a minor incident at the beginning when firefighters dowsed a small fire in the laundry room Saturday afternoon.
“They started packing up their hoses and put a ventilation fan in the front door,” said Herbert.
She went back home to watch TV with her husband. “It was bright and sunny then suddenly everything went black. We thought the lights went out but it was smoke. We saw flames coming out of the top of the roof.”
Platoon Chief Doug Shannon of the London Fire Department explained that even though a thorough inspection was performed using thermal imaging cameras to detect fire inside walls, the technology is not perfect. Things like extra thick insulation can prevent fire from being detected. Because of this firefighters usually stay on scene long after it seems that a fire has been completely extinguished.
As the fire intensified, one firefighter had to leave the home. Fearful the house would collapse, all firefighters then had to keep at a safe distance from the home, while tring to make sure neighbouring houses were not also at risk.
What remains of the house will likely have to be torn down because of its structural instability, said a spokesperson for the London Fire Department.
Several parts of the roof have caved in and the house is generally unsound.
The London Fire Department has pegged faulty electrical wiring as above the electrical panel as the cause of the fire but that’s being verified by the fire marshal’s office..
The home had been in the midst of renovations, firefighters said.
