ATHABASCA - A Colinton home suffered severe smoke damage Jan. 14 after its owner and neighbour unsuccessfully tried to thaw frozen water pipes.
Fire and rescue teams from Colinton and Athabasca responded to the early-afternoon blaze at an older home across the street from the Colinton Skating Rink.
“From what we understand, the water pipes were frozen due to the extreme cold weather,” said Colinton fire chief Bruce Bretzlaff. “A neighbour was helping (the homeowner) thaw it, and they had a little space heater trying to thaw it out. The neighbour left after a few minutes to do something, and came back to see the bathroom was on fire.”
He added the neighbour got the homeowner and his dog out of the house immediately. No one was injured in the blaze.
“He went back in to do something, but already the house was full of smoke and was not able to do anything,” Bretzlaff continued. “When we got there, we couldn’t see nothing in the house, so we entered through the back with water and started to try and hit the fire. We slowed it down and eventually stopped it.”
Bretzlaff said the house suffered severe smoke damage.
“The house was still standing,” he said. “The bathroom itself was destroyed of course because that’s where the fire started. But at least now, he can get all of his contents out.”
He added it did not take long for the fire to get under control.
“It took half an hour to get it under control, plus a few more hours to clean up the scene and make sure everything was put out,” Bretzlaff said. “Due to the cold weather, we had to be really careful we didn’t shut our pumps off because then the water lines would all freeze. Luckily it all turned out in the end.”
