A fire that destroyed a barn in northeast London has been deemed suspicious.
Multiple 911 calls began coming in about a blaze on Fanshawe Park Road East at Stackhouse Avenue around 7 p.m. on Wednesday. None of the callers knew exactly what was on fire as the barn sat back from the road and was surrounded by trees.
When crews arrived, the building was engulfed in flames. The smoke was so thick it could be seen several kilometres away.
"We had to close down Fanshawe Park Road East right at Stackhouse so we could run our hoses across the five lanes of traffic. A very dangerous situation initially to get water to the fire and deal with traffic," said Platoon Chief Colin Shewell.
Firefighters used hand lines and an aerial truck to dump water on the blaze, which took roughly 40 minutes to extinguish.
No injuries were reported and the barn was destroyed.
There were no animals inside and the barn was not used for storage, according to Shewell.
"[The fire] is under investigation...There was no insurance. There was no electricity or any utilities. Generally, if there is nothing there to cause an ignition it is deemed suspicious," said Shewell.
The Ontario Fire Marshal will join local fire inspectors and London police in the investigation into the cause of the fire.
An official damage estimate has not been released.
Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call police at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
The barn fire came on what was already a busy afternoon and evening for firefighters.
Late-afternoon they were called to a gas leak in the Foxwood subdivision in the northwest-end. Construction crews had accidentally severed a four inch natural gas line.
As a precaution, 14 homes were evacuated. Enbridge was called and repaired the gas line by 7:30 p.m. allowing all of the residents to return to their homes about half an hour later.
Around 5:45 p.m., firefighters were called about a kitchen fire at a townhouse on Southdale Road East near Milbank Drive.
When fire crews arrived they found an adult outside of the home who had to be taken to hospital due to smoke inhalation and burns to the hand.
"We were able to contain the fire to the unit of origin. Smoke did migrate to the neighbouring unit. Our crews ventilated it," said Shewell. "This is a great reminder that if you put something on the stove make sure that you are attentive to that. Unattended cooking is one of the leading causes of residential fires in Ontario."
Damage is estimated at $75,000.
