An early morning fire on Monday forced four occupants to flee a single-storey home on 511 Brock Rd., north of Hwy. 5.

Dispatched to the blaze at 3:13 a.m., fire crews arrived to find the occupants safely out of the house and sitting in their vehicle in the driveway, said fire safety officer Bob Simpson of Hamilton Emergency Services – Fire. The home was well engulfed with flames when Hamilton firefighters arrived on the scene from stations in Greensville, Rockton, Lynden, Waterdown, Dundas and Hamilton.  

Smoke alarms in the home were sounding when firefighters arrived.

The fire started in the back porch area where ashes from hot embers were stored, Simpson said. The ashes caused flames to lick the ceiling and roof area of the home resulting in extensive damage estimated at $190,000.

Firefighters, equipped with 16 pieces of apparatus and three tanker trucks, had the fire “knocked down” by 4:30 a.m., Simpson said.

Remaining on the scene for the next few hours to check for hotspots, the last of the firefighters left around 9 a.m.