The holiday was not able to be celebrated at home for one area family, when they lost their house and belongings to a devastating fire just two days before Christmas.
Barriere RCMP report that just after 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 23, their members attended a reported residential structure fire in the 2000 block of Agate Bay Road.
Cst. Cory McGregor says the lone occupant at the time was able to exit from the residence safely, with only minor smoke inhalation.
Unfortunately, the residence is located outside of the Barriere Fire Protection area; so, the attending Mounties, with the assistance of two good samaritans, battled with the fire for approximately an hour.
Their battle included cable dragging two vehicles with the police vehicle from the residence, and to a safe distance away. Unfortunately, the house eventually became fully engulfed, and nothing except the vehicles were saved.
“The occupant advised that she had been alerted to the fire by her smoke detectors,” said Cst. McGregor, who notedw this is a good reminder for others to test their smoke detectors and keep them in working order.
As of press time last week, police said the investigation is currently on-going,
Since the loss of the home, residents in the Agate Bay Road area have been chatting on Facebook in a discussion regarding the possibility of starting their own volunteer fire department.