The East Hawkesbury Township Fire Department sent a call for help to the Vankleek Hill and L’Orignal fire stations to deal with a weekend house fire in St-Anne-de-Prescott.

East Hawkesbury fire fighters responded to a call at about 7 a.m., October 3, about fire that began in a recreation vehicle that was parked beside a house on County Road 18. The fire then jumped across onto the house, spreading through the garage and attic areas.

Fire fighters battled the blaze all morning and into the early afternoon, getting the situation under control by about 1 p.m. No humans were injured as the couple inside, Sylvie and Daniel Pilon, were alerted about the fire by a passerby, but two family cats died in the fire.

 Potential damage cost from the fire is estimated at between $350,000 to $500,000. The attic area is destroyed and some of the interior ceilings have collapsed. The house may have to be demolished.

Cause of the fire is believed to be electrical. The power cord of the RV was plugged into an exterior outlet of the house.

Relatives of the Pilons have taken them in until they can decide what to do next.

Amélie Pilon of Hawkesbury has set up a GoFundMe fundraiser page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/sylvie-et-daniel-pilon with a $10,000 goal to help the couple. As of Monday, October 5 $3900 had been collected.