UPDATE: Vacant Lockhartville, N.S. home destroyed by blaze, cause unknown
A home that’s sat vacant for about a decade has been destroyed by fire.
Hantsport firefighters were paged to a structure fire in the 100 block of Martin Road in Lockhartville around 10 a.m. Aug. 29.
“I was first on scene here. It was definitely a working fire, with heavy smoke coming from all four sides,” said Paul Maynard, a deputy fire chief with Hantsport.
“There was some fire in the bottom floor and within probably about a minute, it extended into the second storey roof area and it was fully engulfed before our first units arrived on scene.”
About 40 firefighters from Kings County and West Hants responded to the location, while others provided standby coverage at the various stations.
Firefighters from West Hants and Kings counties are still working to extinguish a fire at an abandoned home in Lockhartville. The call came in around 10 a.m. pic.twitter.com/m9OyClZesI
— Carole Morris-Underhill (@CMUnderhill) August 29, 2023
“We made a quick, aggressive attack and got it knocked down,” said Maynard, as fire crews were wrapping up operations around 1 p.m.
He said there was power connected to the building although no one was living there.
“The powerlines did drop when I first arrived on scene… but Nova Scotia Power quickly mitigated that (issue),” said Maynard.
Due to the fire occurring on a weekday, when volunteer resources are not as robust, Maynard said he appreciated the response from neighbouring departments.
“We draw heavily on our auto aid and mutual aid so we have some awesome partnerships and they always come out to help us,” he said, commending fellow volunteers.
There were no injuries reported. Representatives with Emergency Health Services, N.S. Power and the RCMP were on scene.
The fire marshal’s office was contacted and an investigation was launched to try to determine the cause.
“There was nobody living in the home at the time. It’s been vacant for probably 10-plus years,” said Maynard, noting at this stage, it doesn’t appear the fire was suspicious.
After an investigation, Maynard said they were unable to pinpoint the ignition source as there was “too much damage.”
He said the RCMP will keep a file on the property and should any new information arise, they will investigate.
Carole Morris-Underhill is the lead editor of the Valley Journal-Advertiser. She can be reached by email at carole.morris-underhill@
