A person is lucky to be alive after the storage facility he was living in went up in flames in Campbellford early Saturday morning.
At approximately 4:40 a.m. on June 11, 2022, Municipality of Trent Hills Fire Department were dispatched to a structure fire at 29 Industrial Driver which is called 24/7 Self Storage.
Fire Chief Tim Blake said shortly after leaving the firehall crews knew they had a working fire because of the glow in the sky and the black smoke.
“When we arrived on scene to find the building 3/4 fully involved.”
Using saws, fire crews gained access to each one of the storage facilities and extinguished the fires.
“It’s a total loss,” said Blake.
But what shocked firefighters is they believe a person was living in the unit where the fire started.
“It appears a occupant was living in unit 133 and caused the fire unintentionally.”
“We recommend to anyone, do not live in these facilities.”
They are not made to be lived in. Blake said he also advises if anyone knows of a person who is living in a storage facility to phone the proper authorities immediately.
Simply put Blake said, “you may save a life.”
Times are tough everywhere for people, “but if you see something like this, where someone is living in a place like this – report it to the police or fire department.”
Blake said it was “very lucky” the person wasn’t killed.
“There is no smoke alarms – it’s just not a good spot.”
The fire spread throughout the building because of the intense head and fire load within each storage area.
“The building did have fire separation. It was a light-weight metal. The area of origin, unit 133 heated up and heated the side of the aluminum and the heat transferred through the aluminum to the units which are next to it.”
“Once it gets the oxygen with the door left open on unit 133, it spread through the entire unit.”
Although people’s homes weren’t actually destroyed, Blake said in some cases everything people owned were stored in the units because people were transitioning from one home to another.
Blake said he met with one couple who were doing that and had rented five units that burned up.
“It’s a unique fire for us, but it’s a terrible loss for them.”
Damage estimates are between $300,000 and $500,000..
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
