by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
FORESTERS FALLS — A Queens Line furniture shop was destroyed by fire late Thursday night.
Just before 10 p.m. Thursday, three 911 calls were made regarding a structure fire on the Queens Line, said Whitewater Region Deputy-Fire Chief Mike Moore. The calls were varying, from a shed to a house to a furniture shop, he recalled.
Firefighters and trucks from the five municipal fire halls responded and since there was plenty of water to battle the blaze, mutual aid was not required, he said. Throughout the night, about 50 firefighters battled the blaze, the final one leaving around 5:30 a.m.
“I’m not sure of the exact time, but the sun was up,” Deputy-Fire Chief Moore said.
Foresters Falls Captain Troy Waite was injured and taken by ambulance to hospital. While he has not received the official report, Deputy-Fire Chief Moore believes the captain has a broken ankle. He believes he had a miss-step getting off the fire truck.
With the building totally engulfed by fire, Deputy-Fire Chief Moore said the barns, house and animals were a top priority. There were no animals in the furniture shop, but within a few feet of the burning building, there were calf hutches with occupants and a few barns and sheds with cattle, he said.
“The police, neighbours and volunteers did a good job of moving the hutches,” he said. And, it’s because of the quick action, “there was no loss of life.”
The former owners of the farm had recently moved out, so the house was empty.
The fire is not suspicious and the cause of the fire will never be known, the deputy-fire chief said.
After talking with Kelvin Martin, who is taking over the farm from his brother Reynold, it was determined that employees had been in the building working during the day. They left and someone else came to the farm to remove equipment, entered the shop and turned on the light.
The person walked outside and to the back of the shop, turned around and noticed flames shooting out of the doors.
While there was saw dust and hay in the facility, Deputy-Fire Chief Moore said they were not the cause of the blaze. In order for hay or saw dust to catch fire, it must ferment and someone would have detected an odd odour, he explained.
There was also 10 tons of corn in a wagon in the shed, which is very flammable, especially if it’s dry, he added.
A few days after the tragedy, Mr. Martin recalled the events of that fateful day.
Colin Gibson had been working in the shop throughout the day and left at about 7 o’clock in the evening. Lucas Martin came in with a flatbed to load with equipment that was being trucked down to southern Ontario.
“He flipped on the light switch and went back behind the shop,” he said. “He looked back and flames were shooting out of the doors.”
Using his cell phone, Lucas called 911 but was connected to the Quebec emergency, so hung up and not knowing what else to do, contacted a firefighter he knew to send out the call.
Neighbours began arriving and there was plenty of activity as cattle were moved to the far ends of the barns and calf hutches, some with calves inside, were moved away from the burning building.
Kelvin said inside the facility, which measured 50 feet by 100 feet, were a variety of woodworking tools, about 20 large square bales of hay, fertilizer, sawdust and 10 tons of corn in a wagon.
While there was no finished furniture inside, he said he makes the doors and frames for the cabinets in the facility and then takes them to his other shop to finish.
He said his brother Reynold had been operating a dairy farm there for many years. He recently sold the cows and quota and moved to southern Ontario. Kelvin and Reynold were making arrangements for Kelvin to take over the farm.
The farm was originally purchased by their parents 35 years ago. Eighteen years ago, Kelvin began his furniture making business, married and eventually moved to the Blind Line where he operated a second furniture shop.
Monday morning, clean-up at the property began.
