An early morning fire in Angus that destroyed one home and spread to another caused more than $1 million in damage, according to the Essa Fire Chief.
Emergency crews were called to the home on Berkar St. just after 3 a.m. but when they arrived the home was almost fully engulfed in flames.
Essa Fire Chief Cynthia Ross Tustin says it appears the blaze started in the garage of 8 Berkar and spread to the garage next door.
Two vehicles in the the driveway of 8 Berkar and two more vehicles in the neighbour's garage were destroyed.
"Between the two houses I'd say a million and a quarter, and a million and a half (in damages.) There's one house that's completely destroyed - the contents and everything - and then the garage damage and garage contents. And then there's the total of four vehicles that are completely ruined, burned."
The Fire Marshal is investigating but not due to anything suspicious, the Chief said. The devastation was heavy and Essa Fire wanted help to pinpoint the cause.
The Chief suspects it was probably electrical in nature but due to the extensive damage the cause might never be known.
There were five adults and a baby in the 'multi-generational' home with grandparents, their children, an 18-year-old grandson and a baby.
The grandson was first to discover the blaze and quickly alerted his family to get out.
They ran to a neighbours across the street and called for help.
"The grandson could smell smoke. Both of these garages are self-contained with no doors to the houses. When the grandson heard the popping and smelled the smoke he thought it was outdoors. There was no smoke in the house," explained the Fire Chief in an earlier interview. "That could be our first hero of the year award."
The home was fully insured, Ross Tustin said and the family that lost everything is getting help close to their home.
"Neighbours are taking good care of their neighbours," the Chief said, adding the family has a home in Barrie so they might stay there.
