Sea View cottage fire started while renters at beach: fire chief

The P.E.I. fire marshal's office continues to look into the cause of a fire that destroyed a two-storey cottage in Sea View.

Kensington Fire Chief Rodney Hickey told CBC News a family from New Brunswick was renting the "fairly new" house, which was owned by people from Quebec. All the renters were down at the beach when the fire broke out Tuesday afternoon.

He said the building's exterior was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived after the midafternoon call.

Hickey said the fact that the windows were open allowed the fire to rip through the structure easily.

Wind created a blowtorch effect

"The breeze was just coming in and just going right in up the stairs and out through the roof. It was just coming out, just like a blowtorch," he said.

"The wind didn't help us at all. It went right up the side of the home and got into the attic. And it was very, very difficult to fight when it's in the attic."

Hickey says the house was gutted and the roof is gone, with just the frame left standing.

All the Kensington fire department's trucks responded, and the New London fire department assisted as well.

The Kensington department had a particularly busy day Tuesday, having responded in the morning to a grain field fire that was threatening nearby trees along the North Freetown Road.

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