The Orillia Fire Department battled a house fire on Christmas Day at the Walker Avenue townhouse, Fire Chief Michael Clark told Muskoka411 in an email.
When crews arrived just after 4 p.m., no one was home. The house was fully involved in smoke and flames on the first and second floors. While the cause of the fire is undetermined, they suspect it was accidental, said Clark.
“It was a very intense fire that at one point was fought offensively (from the exterior). The crews worked extremely hard and were able to contain the fire to the original unit,” Clark said.
The neighbouring attached homes suffered only minor smoke damage. A couple of people at the scene mentioned breathing in some smoke, but no one went to the hospital, and no one else was injured.
Damage will be about $400,000, according to the fire department, which used four trucks and nineteen firefighters at the height of the fire.
The fire was fought by Orillia full-time and volunteer firefighters, assisted by Rama Fire Department, who were on the scene for about three and a half hours.
The cause of the incident remains under investigation.
