Hammonds Plains home destroyed in fire

There were no injuries when a large home in Hammonds Plains, N.S.,burned to the ground early Wednesday.

A call came in from neighbours just after midnight on Tuesday about a fire at 41 Perfect Drive, beside Glen Arbour Golf Course.

Kevin Reade, district chief for Halifax Fire, saidthe fire was "fully involved" when crews arrived.

"It was a major surround-and-drown defensive fire," Reade said.

About 17 unitsresponded, including water tankers. Reade said water had to be shuttled into the area.

Reade said crews poured water on the fire until they had it under control around 5 a.m. Wednesday and were winding down by 6:30 a.m.

There was some initial concern about the flames hopping into the surrounding forest, Reade said, but that didn't happen.

Reade said he was told that one person lives at the house, but no one was home at the time of the fire.

Video and pictures shared online show huge red flames leaping high into the night sky and a charred outline of the building through trees.

When asked about the home's damage, Reade said, "It's right down to the ground. There's nothing left."

Halifax Fire is investigating.

Property records show the 5,500 square-foot, two-storey home was built in 2000 with a current assessment of $851,700.

Dan Bedell, Red Cross spokesperson for the Atlantic region, said the organization's 24-hour dispatch was not contacted by Halifax Fire to help anyone in this case.

Homes and businesses in the area might temporarily have discoloured water because of the large amount of water needed to fight the fire, according to Halifax Water.

In a news release, the utility said customers with discoloured water should run the faucet on cold for about 10 minutes. If that doesn't work, wait a few hours and try again.

Halifax Water warned customers not to run the hot water if the water is discoloured as this could draw it into the hot water tank.