HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2017-01-25, Page 7Wednesday. January 25, 2017 • Huron Expositor 7
UPDATE -on fire in Seaforth a couple weeks back
Three -car garage on Goderich Street
burned down to the ground, Pontiac
G5, Mercedes-Benz 300D Turbo Diesel
among the expensive items lost
Shaun Gregory
Huron Expositor
It's been almost two weeks since
John Bakker had to "painfully"
watch his three -car garage burn
down to the foundation.
With the help of a few friends
he's managed to remove most of
the scorched wreckage, the only
item left in the driveway is a
charred Pontiac G5.
According to Bakker, 60, from
Seaforth, the fire was started from a
wood stove he had inside.
He estimates the loss to be more
than a $100,000, this comes from a
collection of 40 years of tools, the
Pontiac G5, a 23 -foot traveling
trailer and the most meaningful
loss- a 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300D
Turbo Diesel.
This car has a lot of sentimental
value since his mother and father
bought it brand new - the specially
ordered foreign vehicle came
directly from Mercedes-Benz.
It's heartbreaking, but Bakker
said at least his insurance company
has covered the car and a cheque is
thankfully already in the bank, as
for all the other losses he's cur-
rently waiting for, they have yet to
be taken care of.
The worst part about the whole
situation for Bakker is that he could
not do much once the flames had
spread.
"It was fast because it was a
seaforthhuronexpositor.com
INSTALL SMOKE ALARMS
ITITHELAIV
Every home in Ontario
must have a working
smoke alarm on
every storey
and outside all
sleeping areas.
OFFICE OF THE FIRE MARSHAL
wood structure and the garage was
filled with lots of combustibles,"
said Bakker in his driveway that
still had smears of black ashes from
the garage all the way out to Goder-
ich Street.
The flames began to spread to
the nearby trees, telephone wires
and hydro lines, Bakker only had
time to "calmly" back up his two
other vehicles away from the
disaster.
For now, Bakker is counting his
blessings and is glad nobody was
hurt in the matter; the licensed
mechanic is playing everything by
ear.
"You just have to carry on, I just
received a Canadian "fire flyer in
the Focus, and I could pretty
much get all the tools back. They
won't be Snap -on," Bakker said
January 19.
"(1 lowever) I'll get what I need to
work on my own vehicles again."
Marty Bedard, the Fire Chief for
Huron East, admitted that wood
burning stoves are a popular
source of heat in Huron County.
"Some people rely on that to heat
their houses and they have to keep
wood burning in it," Bedard said.
"It always comes with a risk, you
have to understand how a wood
stove works and how to use it
properly."
Today, Bell will donate
5Q more to mental health
initiatives for every:
• Text message"
• Mobile and long distance call"
• Tweet and Instagram post
using #BellLetsTalk
• Facebook video view
• Snapchat using the Bell
Let's Talk geofilter
bell.ca/letstalk
is..#13f4
Bell
Let's Talk
Howie Mandel
'Mobile calls. Iona distance calls and text messages must
be mode and sent by o subscriber. Regular chorges apply