Steinbach's Fire Chief says though they were able to quickly extinguish the two house fires on Park Hill Crescent Sunday evening, the damage was significant.  

Kel Toews says the call came in as two houses on fire around 7:30 PM. 

“When we arrived, both roofs had fire showing. We put them out with water. It appeared to have been mostly an exterior fire, but it had gotten into the attic, so we applied water from the exterior and actually it went fairly smoothly. We put it out quite quickly.” 

Based on the initial investigation, Toews says they believe the fire started underneath the deck of one of the homes and then spread quickly to the neighbouring house, and up the walls into both attics. 

He notes both houses, 61 and 65 Park Hill Crescent, sustained extensive damage. 

“They both were burned right through the roof, so any water we applied went directly into the home as well. There's considerable water damage and smoke damage.” 

a wall is charred blackNot only was there obvious fire damage, but inside the homes there is heavy smoke and water damage as well

When asked if the homes are right-offs, Toews noted “It's kind of borderline. I think at least one of them is probably salvageable. I would say both of them probably will take a lot of work but are probably salvageable.” 

However, Toews says that decision is not up to the fire department.  

Despite making quick work of the blaze, Toews says firefighters stuck around to ensure there were no flare-ups. 

“About 7:30 in the evening is when we arrived. The last of the crews left probably around midnight. But in a case like this, we will usually have one truck on scene overnight for fire watch, just in case there's any rekindling of the fire.” 

According to the Office of the Fire Commissioner, the fire has been ruled accidental. No damage estimate is available at this time. 

Fortunately, Toews says nobody was injured in the fire.