Robert Fisher
Staff Reporter
BARRY’S BAY – A suspected lithium battery on Nov. 13 fire destroyed a family home on Carson Lake in less than an hour.
The husband and wife have asked their names not be included in the story. They are still processing the loss and wish to maintain their privacy as best they can. We will refer to them as H (husband) and W (wife).
The family moved into the home in 2018, coming from Castleton, ON. H had an opportunity for work. The family had come to the area for about 20 years and enjoyed it, being an outdoor family. One of their daughters was riding a battery-powered ATV when she was a year old. “We’ve always been up here,” said W.
Initially they were looking for land to build on, then found the place on Carson Lake which was very similar to their home in Castleton.
One of the couple’s sons had just left to go out for the afternoon and H was getting ready to go hunting. He noticed an oddly sweet smell that was unfamiliar, then noticed puffs of smoke coming from a floor vent. H went downstairs to try to find the source, went into his son’s room and found the smoke and flame. The son is an airsoft player and had a line of batteries in his room, a couple of them on charge. Another son, “went in and out of that basement door five times,” about 5 metres, “from his brother’s room,” H related. The son made it to the main intersection of highways 60 and 62 when he got a call that there was a fire at home.
H went looking for a fire extinguisher. He knew where two were placed. In the panic of the moment, he couldn’t see them. “It looked like a controllable fire,” he said. He knew there were two fire extinguishers at his gravel pit and ran to retrieve them. He figures it took about 90 seconds to make the trip.
There still wasn’t much flame. He could see a gel-like substance. He sprayed the area with the extinguisher and thought the fire was out. He then went to look for the family pets; they had four dogs and cats. He figures another minute or so passed. He went back into the room and the fire was worse. He sprayed the second extinguisher. “All it seemed like I was doing was spreading gas with the fire extinguisher.” The fire had likely caught on to other batteries that weren’t on charge.
The house filled with smoke, “within seconds.”
W said they were worried, earlier in the summer, that a fire ban had not been issued. She is grateful the fire didn’t occur then or it could have been much worse, impacting the surrounding forest and, potentially, their neighbours.
“I couldn’t look anybody in the eye, whether it’s an accident or not,” if the forest and neighbouring properties had been impacted, H said.
No persons were harmed. Three dogs were saved. The family lost one dog and three cats.
“And we’re fully insured,” H said.
W said the insurance claims investigator arrived the following day and found melted copper pipe. Copper melts at 1,085 Celsius.
They had four motorcycles that had just been brought inside for the winter. “Yours was brand new last year,” W said, referring to H’s motorcycle.
W said the fire department went back on Saturday because areas had flared up again.
Ensure you’re insured
The couple said, firmly, that people should make sure their insurance is up to date and will cover the costs of rebuilding and recovery.
They were initially uncertain whether their policy would cover them. They took the policy out in 2021, however, their broker told them she had continued to update it each year for rising costs
“When’s the last time you checked with your agent?” H asked. “And when’s the last time your agent checked with out to make sure you’re up to snuff?” to current standards in the event of a fire,” he added.
Be battery aware
W also wants people to take stock of just how much they have in their home that is powered by lithium batteries of some type. And not to leave devices plugged in when they’ve finished charging.
“We’re just fortunate that it happened during the afternoon. Fortunate that I caught a whiff,” of the smoke,” said H, noting another minute or two and he would have been out the door hunting.
When they rebuild, they won’t be having batteries in the home any longer. They will build a battery bunker with power and heat where all the rechargeable batteries will be housed and charged.
W said she is looking for firesafe lithium charging bags for devices like phones that need to be kept in the home.
Be prepared
“Go through your house with your phone, open all your cupboards, drawers and closets. Take a video every year or every six months,” advised W. She’s using old family pictures, for example, and looking in the backgrounds for belongings, like cookbooks, that need to be replaced.
Moving forward
Christmas will be a little different this year. The couple are staying in a portable on the property for now and looking to get a mobile home brought in. The main thing is the family will be together.
“We’ll be together and that’s what’s important,” said W.
The couple is grateful for their friends who have offered help; showers, hot coffee, clothing and more. They are very appreciative of the larger community who gave them their privacy when they asked for it.
H said he will be apologizing to the fire department for the foreseeable future because of some of the things he said to them in the heat of the moment. In retrospect, he realizes they arrived very quickly, despite it seeming like an eternity at the time. He also understands there was really nothing they could do to save the home because of the nature of the fire. He described the flames as almost movie-like, unreal, as if floating in air.
The recent fire is not their first. They had another house fire 18 years ago. They learned a great deal from that ordeal that is helping them get through this one.
Key lessons
H and W want to try to help others in the community, in the hope that their experience can be useful to others.
Document your belongings: take regular photos and videos of your belongings and store them securely.
Update insurance policies: ensure your coverage reflects current replacement costs.
Store lithium batteries safely: consider keeping them in firesafe bags or outside the home.
Practice fire drills: be sure everyone knows escape routes and where fire extinguishers are located. H also noted that at least one door should be blocked open to allow easier escape, especially for animals. He said he opened doors but they kept being blown or pulled shut by the airflow created by the fire.
Support your community: small acts of kindness can make a big difference and respect privacy when people ask for it to help them in their recovery. Check in on people some months later, too, when the immediate shock has dissipated and the reality of the situation may be weighing them down.
robert@thevalleygazette.ca
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