Fire destroys home
Courtesy Kahnawake Fire Brigade
A fire that resulted in the demolition of a house early Sunday morning was the latest in a year where there has been an abnormally high amount of structure fires, according to Kahnawake Fire Brigade (KFB) chief Wihse Stacey.
He said the call to respond to the fire on Veterans Boulevard came in at 5:12 a.m. on Sunday morning, and by the time the KFB arrived on the scene, the house was so engulfed in flames that the operation was a defensive one for the neighbouring houses.
“We just had to protect the surrounding properties from burning because of the heat,” said Stacey.
The fire was considered under control a little more than an hour later, and was declared out at 7:53 a.m.
Due to the damage sustained, the house was demolished.
The house was unoccupied at the time, as it had belonged to the late Thiwesa and Tom Jacobs, and was being maintained by their grandson, George Jacobs, as a tribute to them, according to a post on Facebook by Regan Jacobs, granddaughter of the original owners.
She declined to comment for this story, referring The Eastern Door to George Jacobs, who could not be reached prior to publishing deadline.
Stacey said that there is no clear link between the house fires that have occurred this year, and no clear explanation why there have been more fires than normal so far in 2025.
He said that that makes prevention work more difficult than if they had all been caused by, for example, faulty electrical systems or unsafe usage of candles or cooking equipment.
“If there was one reason why, then perhaps we could get some information to the community to say, look, this is what’s going on. This is how you could be better prepared to be safer,” said Stacey.
Speaking generally, he did give a few pieces of advice that could help if a fire did happen in your home: have more than one fire extinguisher, and learn how to use it; have a working smoke alarm in each floor of your home; and make sure to have an escape plan, especially if children are present in the house.
“A lot of times you see younger children, you set off smoke alarms, and they’re totally oblivious to it,” said Stacey, who added that recognizing the noise as a smoke alarm and not just a loud noise is vital.
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“You can always replace a house. You can always replace your contents. You can’t replace a life,” said Stacey.
