Several animals perished in a fire at a small barn in Bradford but two brave passersby managed to rescue some dogs from the flames.
Plumber Marc Bouffard from Barrie and his apprentice, Joshua Broadhead from Alliston were driving by and called 911 when they saw the smoke. Then the pair went into the barn and freed the dogs.
Bradford West Gwillimbury Firefighters were called to the property with a century farmhouse, garage and adjoining barn on Yonge St. around 3 p.m. Jan. 3.
Flames were shooting out of the structure when firefighters arrived, according to Fire Chief Kevin Gallant.
"Crews did an excellent job in extreme conditions," Gallant said, referring to the frigid temperatures. "Quick work to knock it down and stop it from extending into the garage and then into the house."
The home owners kept chickens, pot bellied pigs, sheep, rabbits and ducks in the barn, the Chief said and several animals were killed.
The cause of the blaze was deemed to be a heat lamp used to keep chickens warm.
"The theory is the lamp might have come in contact with some combustibles or might've been too close to combustibles and started the fire. There was no other electrical in there," said Gallant.
Someone driving by saw smoke and called in the fire. Other than firefighters being very cold, there were no injuries.
Gallant says a veterinarian arrived in addition to Bradford Animal Control. A couple dogs were running around and one took off.
The runaway pet, a Golden Retriever named Marly, was found safe and sound last night.
'As a community everyone came together and helped a family during a very hard time,' a spokesperson for Bradford West Gwillimbury Animal Control wrote on Facebook.
The Fire Chief had some advice for pet owners in light of the incident.
"My word to people is that even though your pets are at home, make sure they have some sort of identification on them. If they do get loose, for whatever reason, you never know when you're going to have a situation like that, if they take off at least they have some sort of identification on them to get them back," said Gallant.
Bradford Fire had some assistance with tankers from Innisfil and New Tecumseth Fire sent a pumper to cover the Branford Hall until the Chief could call in additional staff.
Damage is estimated around $40,000.
