A quick-thinking Freshwater resident who used a garden hose to spray water onto a home as a nearby shed burned to the ground May 22 is being credited for helping avert a major loss of property.
Adam Hiscock lives not far from Curtis and Anne Pynn, and was one of the first on the scene after several small explosions rocked the tiny community and the Pynns' shed went up in flames.
Hiscock pulled an all-terrain vehicle and a barbecue away from the burning shed, and then stood by for what he figures was about 15 minutes, spraying water onto the side of the Pynns' home. It got so hot that Hiscock had to turn the hose onto himself at times.
"He really saved the house from any major damage," said Ed Kavanagh, chief of the Carbonear Volunteer Fire Department.
Hiscock was in his father's garage, repairing his motorcycle when he was told about the fire. He ran the short distance to the Pynn property, and said fire was already surging out through the shed window.
"I yelled out to (neighbour) Gerry Strong to stretch out the garden hose. I said 'if we don't get some water on it, she's going to catch.' The siding was already starting to melt. I stayed there until the fire department arrived."
Hiscock estimates the shed is about 15 feet, or 4.5 metres, from the home.
"I'm pretty sure it would have caught," he said.
And this wasn't just any house. Adam's late grandfather, George Hiscock, once owned the property.
"I didn't want to look down from my house and not see anything there," said the 27-year-old.
Chief Kavanagh said the department received the emergency call at about 5 p.m., and the first unit was on the scene about five minutes later.
Only the frame of the shed was still standing when the department arrived, and the siding was melted off one side of the Pynns' home. A second home also sustained some heat damage, said Kavanagh.
Kavanagh suspects the fire was "gas related," and expressed relief there were no injuries.
The incident occurred on one of the hottest days this year, with temperatures hovering around 30 C.
The Victoria fire department also responded.
editor@cbncompass.ca
