By Kevin Swayze
The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario)
 
After of morning of agony by fire, a little brick bungalow had a last laugh on firefighters yesterday.

Three times the empty house was easily set ablaze as University of Waterloo researchers recorded temperature data on a computer in the back of a red hatchback parked on the front lawn.

Three times Cambridge firefighters dragged hoses inside to knock down the flames, testing new water nozzles they're considering buying.

But by 2 p.m., the house seemed fed up with the abuse. The fourth and last fire was supposed to burn the house down, but it took training Capt. Sid DaSilva almost an hour to build a rolling blaze inside, despite holes in the roof and pineboughs dragged inside and ignited with a propane torch.

"You know how many times I've wished a roof wouldn't burn? And today it wouldn't," DaSilva said, sweat dripping from his face as he looked at a finger of flame finally shooting through the shingles.

He was tired of the razzing from bystanders, as he crawled in the attic trying to get the fire started.

The house was donated to the Cambridge Fire Department by Andy and Darlene Incitti, who wanted it razed so they could build a bigger house on the Davies Street property in the city's rural southeast corner.

"This is great. I just love this," Darlene said as neighbours gathered for the oversized bonfire party, with six fire trucks and more than a dozen firefighters milling about.

Black smoke was rolling overhead by 3 p.m., prompting some drivers to park and gawk along nearby Highway 8. The house was well on the way to oblivion.

"It's a weird feeling watching a perfectly good house burn," said Bill Chesney, the deputy fire chief.