A sharp-eyed young woman likely saved her family’s home from a lot of damage.

Petrolia/North Enniskillen firefighters were called to Lasalle Line near Mandaumin around 2:45 pm Wednesday after the family called 9-1-1. The corner of the one-storey house caught fire.

Fire Chief Rick Cousins says it looks like the fire started at the corner of the deck and spread to the siding since that is where the highest concentration of burnt lumber is.

“A young girl was home from school, I believe, and saw the smoke go by the window. So, she ran outside and grabbed the garden hose and started applying water,” says the chief.

He says the fire was “pretty much extinguished” by the time firefighters arrived.

Cousins says had the young woman not stopped the fire with the garden hose, it would have stoked the flames and caused more damage than it did to the siding and the deck.

What caused the fire is a mystery. There is a hydro meter near the area which caught fire, but Cousins says the fire wasn’t directly around it so it is not the cause of the blaze. The chief says it is unlikely the high temperature today was enough to start a fire since “building materials are designed to withstand a lot hotter than 34 degrees.

“There’s no cigarette butts laying around as if it was started by a discarded cigarette or anything, so it’s kind of it’s going have to go down as undetermined.

Cousins estimates the damage to the corner of the house to be about $10,000. No one was injured in the fire.