It began at 10:19 p.m. when West Prince RCMP received a 911 call about a structural fire on the garage side of a home, said Cpl. Lisa Jones.
“The officer first on scene wasn’t sure if anyone was in the home, so he broke some windows and called into the house, but the smoke became too thick and he had to back away from the building.
“The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but the fire marshal’s original thought is the fire was caused by a car that was in the garage..”
No one was at the home at the time of the fire, but the family’s 16-year-old cat died. The owners, identified through Facebook, are Barb and Wayne Locke.
The house, located on the intersection of Cleremont and Hamilton Roads was engulfed in flames by the time fire fighters arrived.
Rodney Hickey, the deputy chief of the Kensington Fire Department, said Saturday night’s storm didn’t help quell the fire.
“We were able to get it out within the first hour. But with the wind, things kept smoldering and flaring up.
“We had two of our own tankers there, as well as two from New London’s mutual aid. We had lot’s of water, but with the poor visibility and the roads it made the situation difficult.
“By the time we got there the garage was absolutely gone and it was making its way to the other end of the house, and then it went through the roof.”
Kensington fire department didn’t return to the fire hall until 3:30 a.m. and were called later in the morning after a corner of the garage began to smoke again.
“Wanted to make sure we got it all out, we didn’t want to have to go back. But this morning there was another flare up so we sent one of our tankers and crew of four men to put it out,” said Hickey.
