No injuries were reported following a recent fire at Cumberland’s Council Chamber.
According to the Village, the chamber’s roofing structure was caught on fire at around 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
Cumberland Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Stephane Dionne says when he arrived on scene, he saw light smoke coming from the building.
“It was not a big fire, but it was hard to reach because of the age of the building and the way the building was built,” said Dionne.
“The fire was at the base between the Public Work roof and Chamber roof, but the smoke and heat was rising up in the attic. We had nine firefighters responding on the call.”
While the fire was extinguished quickly, Dionne says it took them an hour and a half to make sure no fire was spread and the flames weren’t extended to other locations. No one got hurt or injured from the incident.
For what caused the fire, Dionne adds it was by accident.
“It was a big bird nest stuck between the two roofs which started the fire,” said Dionne.
“What happened is that when they were working on the roof of the public work section, they accidentally ignited the nest, which they didn’t know about, because it was hiding under the wood.”
The Village says because of the fire, the village office had to close for the rest of Thursday, with council chamber to be out of service for now.
