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Firefighters brave bitter cold to fight Wahnapitae house fire

Extreme cold brings added danger to fire fighting efforts
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A Wahnapitae home suffered $185,000 in damage from Saturday night's fire (File).

At 7:25 p.m Saturday evening, the Greater Sudbury Fire department responded to a house fire on Jumbo Road in Wahnapitae. 

Two individuals were evacuted from the residence without injuries, with one sent to hospital on unrelated concerns. The suspected origin of the fire was the attic, now buried beneath the home's collapsed roof. The estimated cost of damage to the home is upwards of $185,000. 

The fire was located in an unserviced area, meaning that with no installed fire hydrants, water needed to be shipped in from an alternate location. The extreme cold of yesterday made this process especially difficult, with equipment liable to freeze at any moment. 

A Greater Sudbury Transit bus was hired for the health and safety of staff, so as to provide minimal shelter from the -45 C wind chill. 

After roughly five hours, a team of eight vehicles and 31 staff from the Consiton, Wahnapitae, Minnow Lake and Long Lake stations, managed to put out the flames. 

The Greater Sudbury Fire department has yet to determine the cause of the fire. 



Keira Ferguson, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

About the Author: Keira Ferguson, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

A graduate of both Laurentian University and Cambrian College, Keira Ferguson is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter, funded by the Government of Canada, at Sudbury.com.
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