Investigators aren’t sure what caused a home in Oil Springs to go up in flames.

Monday, around 1:30 pm neighbours to the Oil Springs Line home called 9-11 after noticing flames. About 18 members of the Oil Springs/South Enniskillen department responded as well as members of the Petrolia/North Enniskillen department were on scene for hours trying to knock down the blaze.

Chief Mike Cumming says the fire appears to have started in the back south bedroom. By 2:30 pm, flames were shooting through the roof. Cummings says in an example of why mutual aid is important, firefighters from Petrolia lined up the department’s tele-squirt – equipment not available in Oil Springs – as Oil Springs firefighters shot water from the sides to eventually bring the fire under control.

Cumming says the owner of the house, a young woman with two small children, was not home at the time. Neighbours pulled the family dog from the garage once the fire was spotted.

Cumming says the insurance company has estimated the damage at $400,000. It’s sending in an investigator to determine what sparked the blaze.