WINDSOR FORKS, N.S. – The Route 14 Buy Sell and Trade at the intersection of Sangster Bridge Road and Highway 14 suffered interior damage during a structure fire on Dec. 4.
At approximately 8:30 a.m., volunteer firefighters from Windsor, Hantsport and Brooklyn responded to the scene after a driver-by called 911 when they noticed smoke from the building.
Jamie Bond, the owner of Route 14 Buy Sell And Trade, said his partner woke him up, noticing what was happening on her way home from work.
RCMP and fire departments were already on the scene when he arrived.
“It’s likely something to do with the wiring,” Bond said. “It was contained to one wall on one side luckily.”
Bond said he’s currently in the process of making calls to his insurance to see what the next steps are.
“There wasn’t a lot of fire, there was more smouldering and smoke – a bit of water damage from the fire hoses,” he said. “I’m not sure how bad the damage is, it could have been a lot worse.”
Nobody was inside the building when the fire began and nobody was injured.
That’s the good news, but Bond says he is worried about what this could mean for his business, which he began four years ago.
“It’s Christmas time and it’s one of those things you don’t like waking up to,” he said. “I’m sure it’ll be closed for a while. Planning to reopen in the near future.”
Bond said he was grateful for the quick response from the region’s fire departments, who were on the scene within 15 minutes.
Jason Cochrane, chief of the Brooklyn Fire Department, said the fire was relatively easy to knock down as it mostly burned itself out, contained to one area of the structure.
RCMP were sent to the scene at the same time and arrived on scene first. They determined nobody was inside.
“There was very little fire source, it had pretty much burnt itself out, some smouldering in the wall and it was at the end of the building,” he said. “We checked for any further extension for fire and did extinguish what was left.”
Cochrane said the source of the fire was electrical.
Traffic did not have to be blocked during the response due to the size of the parking area.
