A new-build on Woolwich Street South in Breslau burned to the ground on Friday morning.
The fire started around 3:30 in the morning. One neighbour said he heard a loud thud and he felt his house rumble.
“All of a sudden, our house shook. I heard this loud bang, and the house shook,” said Dan Battler.
Battler and his wife ran to the window to see what it was and that’s when they saw flames shooting out of his neighbour’s home.
Homes on either side of the fire were evacuated voluntarily. Once crews arrived on scene to assess the situation, homeowners were let back in.
“An initial report was that there was an explosion. We haven’t been able to confirm or deny that yet,” said Kevin Karley, Fire Chief of Maryhill – Breslau fire department.
Officials said no one was inside the home at the time of the fire. They said there were some heaters that may have been on and could have started the fire.
The home was under construction and there was no natural gas to the home.
A devastating loss for a family this morning. Their newly constructed home caught fire around 3:30 a.m. Thankfully no on was home at the time. The family was looking to move in for Christmas. @CTVKitchener pic.twitter.com/B9SHTumenh
— Marta Czurylowicz (@martaczurCTV) November 23, 2018
The homeowner told CTV that the home was 90 per cent finished and his family of five was looking to move in soon.
Fire officials are estimating damage to the home to be about $1 million. There was also damage to adjacent homes.
The Ontario Fire Marshal has been called in to investigate. The exact cause of the fire is not known.
