Fire caused significant damage to a home in Port Dover Thursday afternoon.
Flames broke out at the bungalow on Hamilton Plank Road just after 8:30 a.m. Thursday and the fire was soon noticed by an alert neighbour.
“At the start it was just smoke coming out from under the eaves,” said Rick Galway, who lives across the street. “The flames shot out the window … and they went right up over the roof.”
While the family of four who live in the house were not home, there were animals inside.
“I ran over and was pounding on the door and I could hear something inside. I knew that they had a dog,” said Galway.
Scott Pipe, Norfolk County's fire prevention officer, said an OPP officer was the first official on the scene.
“When the OPP officer opened the front door to investigate the fire, a dog ran out. There were three cats in the home. Firefighters gave oxygen to one of the cats and it did resuscitate the cat,” Pipe said.
The dog and one of the cats are doing fine, but the other two animals are missing.
Fire officials have not pinpointed the cause, but said the flames broke out in the kitchen. It took 21 firefighters from stations in Port Dover and Simcoe to beat down the flames, which went up into the attic.
“It’ll be an extended period of time before the family is allowed to return to the home,” said Pipe.
Damage is estimated at $200,000.
With reporting by Carina Sledz
