'Get up, get out!': Fire destroys Sarnia, Ont. duplex

The Sarnia Fire Department says damage to a duplex on Lochiel Street is extensive and estimated at about $300,000.

The blaze in the 200 block, between College and Brock streets, started just before midnight Wednesday.

A pair of neighbours, who asked not to be identified, say they heard a series of small blasts around 11:40 p.m. Another neighbour caught successive bursts of flames on a security camera.

Lochiel Street fire in Sarnia, Ont. on March 16, 2022. (Submitted)

She didn’t hear the blast but noticed alerts from her camera on the phone. When she went outside, she heard yelling.

“It was one resident at first, and they were just screaming, ‘get-up, get out, get out.’ And then I heard them knocking at a door, presumably to another unit, and kicking in the door to try and get any residents that were still inside.”

It wasn’t long before the home, over a century old, was covered in flames.

Public information officer Mike Otis describes the scene as three stations responded. “Flames were shooting out from the front of the house. The front door was already compromised. “

CTV News has confirmed noby was inside at the time of the blaze and no injuries are reported.Lochiel Street fire in Sarnia, Ont. on March 16, 2022. (Sean Irvine/CTV London)

Barb Houlbrook arrived as the search was ongoing. She was emotional as she saw her brother’s home damaged. “Seeing that, it hurts. It could have been much worse.”

While the structure is a total loss, the cause for this fire may take some time to determine.

The main unit contained many items, some of which fire crews tossed out windows as they searched the structure.

“The stairs are gone and the floor is compromised. That is why it’s taking us longer to do a secondary search,” said Otis.