Prince Edward County First Responders had a busy week last week: an ice-water rescue on Wellers Bay sandwiched by not one but three devastating house fires in Picton and on the Heights.

The calls started late in the evening on Tuesday, February 20th, when crews from Station 1 responded to a fire on Albert Street in the town’s southwest end. The fire caused significant damage to the single-storey home. Crews extinguished the hot spots and remained on scene for several hours. There were no injuries and no pets lost in the fire. Losses were estimated at $500,000

The next day, Fire and Rescue responded to a call from four ice fishers on Wellers Bay. Responders from Station 5 (Rossmore), Station 6 (Consecon) and Station 8 (Carrying Place) rushed to the scene.

The anglers were stranded on an iceberg; the piece of ice they were fishing on broke off from a pressure crack near the Edwards Drive access point and started drifting across the Bay towards Smokes Point.

Two of the anglers were rescued by a Fire & Rescue watercraft while two others were picked up off the ice floe by a helicopter from the CFB Trenton Joint Rescue Coordination Centre. The crew operating the CH-146 Griffon hoisted the two fishers to safety and transferred them to a waiting ambulance. No injuries were reported.

“Anyone rescued off the ice may be responsible for the associated response costs,” stated Chief Chad Brown. “Anyone out on the ice should ensure they have the necessary gear and monitor conditions to prevent unnecessary risk.”

Inkerman Blaze

Just hours later on Wednesday evening, Fire & Rescue responded to house fire on Inkerman Avenue in Macaulay Village. The occupants were home at the time and were notified by a neighbour of the fire on the home’s exterior. The house became fully involved in a wind-driven fire that also damaged the neighbouring home’s exterior. Crews quickly knocked down the blaze, but the fire spread throughout the two-storey home. There were no injuries. Losses are estimated at $300,000. 

It still wasn’t over. On Friday morning, fire crews responded to reports of a structure fire at 8:45 a.m. on York Street in Picton. Fire crews found a small fire in the roof structure of a commercial property. The cause of the fire was related to the operation of a fuel-fired heating stove. A portion of the roof was removed. Damage is estimated at $10,000. There were no injuries and the area was reopened to traffic by 11 a.m.

“Our firefighters have performed exceptionally well at these incidents and I thank them for their dedication to our service delivery and community wellbeing,” said Chief Brown on Friday.

He added that he was glad to have learned at least one of the properties involved in the string of fires had working smoke alarms. “While it is positive news the occupants would have been alerted to the fire and had time to escape, we can’t stress enough the importance of ensuring that all occupancies have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms,” he said. County residents are reminded homes found without the required alarms may be subject to enforcement action.

“I also wish to remind everyone to ensure they properly dispose of smoking materials and completely extinguish cigarette butts. Smoking continues to be a leading cause of fires in the County.”

Editor’s note: This story has been modified to include a report from Friday’s fire on York street as well as follow up comments from PECFR Chief Chad Brown.