Fighting flames.
Greater Madawaska firefighters are on the job at Teresita Godin’s home in Griffith last Sunday.
Christi Laundrie, Cat’s Eye Photography
There was a planned power outage in Griffith last Sunday until late morning, but
the power of fire was felt shortly afterwards.
A fire destroyed the two-storey home of Teresita Godin, who was
out of town attending church at the time. Godin lost her home as well as her
cat and pet bird.
The 9-1-1 call came in at 11:27 a.m., after a neighbour noticed
flames at 8 Godin Lane,
across Highway 41 from the Pine Valley Restaurant. The first firefighters arrived at 11:36 a.m.
One corner of the house was already engulfed in flames by that
time. This was the third fire within the village limits, and surrounding area,
in more than a decade, says Greater Madawaska fire chief Betsy Sayers.
The persistent fire wasn’t entirely under control until 1 p.m.
A total of 19 Greater Madawaska firefighters, including incident
commander Gary Peters, were on the scene along with two pumpers, three tankers,
two rapid-attack trucks and two rescue vans.
Assistance also came from the E&P Thompson logging company,
which used a grappling hook to remove debris to facilitate the firefighters’
work. Bert and Matthew Kauffeldt of Pine Valley Restaurant also helped
out, with tanker placement and water dumps.
The Godin house was insured. There is no determined cause of the
fire at this time.
Greater Madawaska’s last house fire was in September, when a
newly-built cottage on Black
Donald Lake
was destroyed.
steve.newman@metroland.com