An Ottawa area farmhouse went up in flames today just weeks before Christmas. The farmer managed to escape, after trying, unsuccessfully, to put out the fire with an extinguisher. It started just before noon at 58-hundred McCordick Road. That's between North Gower and Richmond. By the time firefighters arrived, the two-storey house was fully engulfed in flames. The owner fled the house, along with his two dogs. More than 30 full-time and volunteer firefighters were called to help along with 16 trucks in order to haul water to the scene. There are no hydrants in this rural part of Ottawa.
“Right now, the building is multi-construction,” says Todd Horricks, the Sectional Chief with Ottawa Fire Services, “so old timber mixed with new construction which makes it really difficult to get in and unstable for firefighters to get in and continue with interior attacks.”
There are several barns on the property along with the house but the fire did not spread. The Ottawa Fire department had no estimate of damage yet or a cause.
