By Jim Brown
jim@peicanada.com

Deputy Fire Marshal Robert Arsenault, after two days of extensive investigation, ruled a weekend fire in Seacow Pond to be “an accidental fire of undetermined cause and origin.”

He concluded his investigation Tuesday at 2 pm.

The deputy fire marshal said the massive destruction at the scene and extensive level of “fire suppression” needed to contain the blaze made it impossible to come to a determination about cause and origin.

The fire consumed a barn and valuable equipment at a fox and mink ranch in Seacow Pond late Sunday afternoon. 

Casey Gavin, owner of Silver Hill Fur Farm, estimates the damage at more than a million dollars.

But he considers himself lucky the damage wasn’t more devastating, considering there were homes and other structures in the area that could have caught fire. Many mink and foxes were housed nearby, as well as horses.

It was “a big hit”, but it could have been worse, he said.

Mr Gavin. whose property was insured, was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation and later released.