Chief says fire that destroyed 8th Line home not suspicious

Nobody hurt in house fire; damage pegged at $1.5 million

ERIN – An early morning fire on April 27 resulted in a family’s home being totally destroyed west of Erin village on the 8th Line.

Volunteer firefighters woke to pages to attend the town’s Erin and Hillsburgh stations at 3:17am on Saturday for the house fire.

Crews arrived to find the entire home ablaze, and fought the fire from outside.

Nobody was hurt, according to a press release from the town, and the home owner and family were not home at the time.

A “house sitter” and the sitter’s daughter were in the house at the time, but got out safely, according to Erin Fire Chief Jim Sawkins.

Firefighters also attended from Rockwood, with a total of 10 trucks and 33 firefighters attending.

The blaze was declared under control minutes after 5am.

According to Sawkins, the house is a “total write-off” with the value of the loss estimated at $1.5 million.

“The cause of the fire is not considered suspicious,” according to the town’s press release.

The exact cause is still being investigated Sawkins told the Advertiser.

The chief determined the fire started in the vicinity of the home’s rear deck, but would not elaborate on how he reached that conclusion.