Fire destroys Searchmont area home (7 photos)

NEWS RELEASE
SEARCHMONT COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
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Fire ravaged a lakeside home and a large shed in the Searchmont area.

At around 3:30 a.m. the Searchmont Community Volunteer Fire Department was paged after an emergency call reporting a shed was on fire, said fire chief Travis McCormack.

McCormack said that wind and a close proximity to the shed played a factor in the fire spreading quickly to the home.

Both the home and the shed suffered significant structural damage and would be considered a total loss. Fire fighting efforts were impacted due to the nature of the narrow private road on the north end of the lake and the cold temperatures. With the road limited in capacity and width only a single truck load of water could be delivered by a tanker truck.  

The home being on the lake aided in providing water via a fire department portable pump accessed by cutting a hole in the ice.

Hoses and nozzles quickly froze up if water wasn’t kept constantly flowing.

McCormack said Mutual Aid was engaged to bring additional manpower and resources from Aweres Fire Department 30 minutes away.

"We are really thankful for the assistance," he said.

There were no injuries, said McCormack.  

"We were also able to prevent the fire from further spreading to additional nearby residences. Due to an aggressive knock down of the fire and good defensive exposure control techniques, only minor heat damage to siding was reported on the home next door."

McCormack said the cause of the fire in the shed is unknown but the incident is not considered suspicious at this time. 

Members of Red Cross were also dispatched to work with the displaced home owner and their family.

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