Fire crews responded to an early-morning fire in Timmins.
Timmins Fire Department Deputy Chief Ellard Beaven said the fire at the Kaleidoscope Co-op caused extensive damage and affected three units.
He said the homeowner's son noticed the fire around 4:30 a.m. and told his parents right away. They got out of the house and notified neighbours.
“It was just tragedy after tragedy the way it played out because the deck started, then it was a gas can for a boat — for an outboard motor — it caught,” he said.
The fire spread to another deck and also burned the gas metres.
“So then it was a natural gas-fed fire and the flames were like 15 feet over the roof of the building. It was just bad thing after bad thing as it played,” said Beaven.
Six people inside the units at the time were able to get out.
The department's fire prevention division is investigating the cause.
Beaven said it's very preliminary right now, but it looks accidental.
There were 14 firefighters on scene, including fulltime firefighters, the Schumacher station and one volunteer from Timmins.
“The crews did an exceptional job because at first it just came in as a small deck fire and as time progressed and it compromised the gas metre and it became a more serious fire, the crews just adapted to what they rolled up on and were able to extinguish it without injuries,” he said.
