Firefighters in Six Nations were pushed to their limit Monday as they dealt with two nearly simultaneous house fires.
The first call came in at 12:45 p.m. A house on Indian Line at the south end of the reserve was burning, and there were fears people could be trapped inside the house.
Firefighters arrived at the scene to find heavy smoke and flames coming from one side of the building. They entered the home and determined nobody was inside, then were ordered out of the home moments later after its roof collapsed.
Around 1:15 p.m., another call came in for a house fire on Chiefswood Road.
More firefighters were dispatched to that site. Six Nations fire chief Matthew Miller said they encountered a series of small explosions from propane tanks and other “miscellaneous items” on the property.
“It was a pretty bad scene when we first got here,” Miller said.
The situation of two active structure fires at once resulted in Six Nations firefighters calling for backup from communities including Brantford, Hagersville, Scotland, Mount Pleasant and Onondaga.
“It was very overwhelming,” Miller said.
Both homes were destroyed. No human injuries were reported, although a dog was killed in the fire on Indian Line.
According to Miller, neither fire is considered suspicious and there is no reason to believe they are connected in any way.
With reporting by Stu Gooden
