Garage Fire Sparks Warning from Fire Officials in Cramahe Township

Pete Fisher
12 months ago
• Categories: Local

Cramahe fire officials are advising people to check before you burn anything outdoors.

This message comes after a garage burned up after a neighbour was burning leaves on Saturday, May 13, 2023.

Cramahe Township Fire Department received a call of a structure fire on Parliament Street in Colborne’s east end shortly before 10 a.m.

Cramahe Township Deputy Fire Chief Matt Halmasy said when crews arrived the garage was “fully involved.”

“The cause was determined that a neighbour was burning leaves. The fire got away from him and got into his neighbours garage and resulted in a complete loss of the garage and the contents.”

Halmasy said, “there are bun permits required for people to start any type of fire and there are certain zones in Cramahe Township that we don’t allow fires to occur.”

There is also the possibility if the fire department gets called to a fire, no matter the size, if there is not a permit the homeowner could be charged for each fire truck that attends which is nearly $600 per truck.

Call your municipality, make sure there is no burn bans in place. If you require a permit, make sure you activate that permit. If you’re not allowed to activate the permit it’s usually because there is a burn ban in place and I strongly suggest you don’t burn anything.”

“This is an unfortunate example of what happens when people don’t follow those rules.”

Estimate of damage caused by the fire is $200,000.