/Fire on Gelert Road destroys house
Firefighters fill a portable tank with water they pumped from a water source near Kinmount to douse the fire at a home on Gelert Road. In total seven Minden firefighters attended with four Dysart firefighters assisting. There were no human injuries but two cats were reported to have perished in the fire. The cause of the fire is currently undetermined./ SUE TIFFIN Staff

Fire on Gelert Road destroys house

By Sue Tiffin

Published Feb. 28, 2019 

 

Fire
crews put a water shuttle into action on Feb. 20 when they arrived at
the scene of a fire at 1211 Gelert Road to find a fully engulfed house
and a lack of water source in a non-hydrant area.  

 

“Our
guys had to go a fair distance before they could find some acceptable
water,” said Minden Hills fire chief Mike Bekking. “You’ve gotta
understand there’s a lot of ice out there so what they look for is a
body of water that’s close to a roadway and they’ve got access to, and
we prefer flowing water so we don’t have to cut through the ice.”

 

Fire
crews on scene worked to move propane tanks from behind the house,
while trucks headed out to establish the closest water source, bringing
water back from Kinmount. 

“All of that
stuff takes time, so that’s basically what we were waiting for there, is
to establish some kind of a water source,” said Bekking. “We did get
water, it’s just that sometimes it takes a little longer than others
because of travel distance.”

There were no human injuries but two cats were reported to have died in the fire, which did not reach to the nearby garage. 

 

The
cause of the fire is currently undetermined. Fire crews were on scene
until about 8 p.m. putting out hot spots. Seven Minden firefighters and
four Dysart firefighters, and members of Haliburton Highlands OPP, EMS
and the county roads department attended.