Damage to an Innisfil cottage is so extensive officials may never know what caused it.
Crews were called to the cottage on Maple Road just before 6 p.m. on Thursday after flames could be seen coming out of the roof.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. The whole cottage was on fire. Pieces of it were just falling down. Not a single part was not burning,” Malka Erlanger says.
Firefighters were worried it would spread to neighbouring houses so they concentrated their efforts on containing the fire.
“The deck on one side did catch fire, we got it out quickly. York Regional Police also helped us with their fire boat,” said Innisfil Fire Deputy Chief Tom Raeburn.
A crane was eventually used to douse the cottage from above and crews were able to get the fire under control.
“We literally just saw the windows burning and the roof we just saw it go from a two-storey cottage down to a one-storey cottage,” says Amy Walden, who witnessed the blaze from her boat.
The investigation is ongoing.
