METEGHAN, N.S. – Volunteer firefighters from three fire departments responded to a blaze in the Municipality of Clare on Thursday, May 24, for a fire that completely destroyed a structure.
A building that had been used before as a boat shop on the Peter Dugas Road, very close to the Meteghan/Saint Martin boundary line, was completely destroyed by fire.
Meteghan Fire Chief Alain Comeau says the structure was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived on scene. He referred to it as a defensive fire to battle. There was little opportunity to save the building given that it had become engulfed so quickly, so firefighters concentrated efforts on ensuring the fire did not spread. Fortunately there weren’t any adjacent buildings.
Comeau said the cause of the fire was accidental, explaining sparks from work being done had ignited the blaze. He said the building was around 40 years old. It wasn’t being used to build boats anymore, the fire chief said, but it’s owner still used the building on a daily basis for other work.
“He lost everything he had,” said Comeau. “He lost all of his equipment.”
There were no injuries reported as a result of the fire.
The departments on the scene included Meteghan, Salmon River and Little Brook. Comeau said the decision was made very quickly to make this a mutual aid call.
Firefighters remained on the scene for about four hours. The road was closed while departments were on the scene as water was being trucked back and forth to the fire scene from a nearby water source located at a small bridge a short distance away.
