04-28-2018 , 01:00 AM
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scoti...-1.4638618 Apartment building fire leaves residents homeless in Bible Hill
No injuries in blaze that ripped through three-storey building off Vimy Road
Shaina Luck · CBC News · Posted: Apr 27, 2018 3:29 PM AT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago
Fire crews were called to an apartment building in Bible Hill on Friday. The building was extensively damaged. (Shaina Luck/CBC)
Several families are homeless after a fire ripped through a 12-unit apartment building in Bible Hill, N.S., on Friday.
Fire crews responded to the call at 23 Brooklyn Dr. at 12:30 p.m. All residents managed to escape and are accounted for. Fire officials said there were no injuries and Red Cross volunteers are assisting displaced residents.
Jenny Shin and her mother were in the process of moving from an apartment on the first floor to one on the third floor when she smelled something unusual.
"My mom said, 'Someone is maybe cooking something.'"
Jenny Shin and her mother are two of the people displaced by the fire. (CBC)
But when Shin went to the window, she could see flames and people already getting out of the building. She and her mother quickly did the same. She's now waiting for word on when she can get back in to assess the damage. Shin said they hadn't set up fire insurance prior to the move.
She's staying in guest housing at Dalhousie University's agricultural campus, where she is a graduate student. They're trying to find a place for her mother.
Bible Hill Fire Brigade Chief Joey Bisson said the entire front of the three-storey building was engulfed in flames reaching from the third storey to the roof as the first two trucks arrived.
"From that point it was just spreading rapidly."
Bible Hill Fire Brigade Chief Joey Bisson said the building's third storey and roof were fully engulfed when the first two trucks arrived on scene. (CBC)
Wendy Smith lives across the street from the apartment building. She said she was having a nap when she heard a loud sound like rain.
"I looked out my bathroom window and it was just shooting flames everywhere."
Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze by mid-afternoon, in part by using an aerial truck to "drown out the top of fire," said Bisson. The building's roof was extensively damaged and eventually collapsed as crews monitored the scene for hot spots or flareups.
Bisson said it's too soon to know how the fire started, although he said it appears to have started in the front of the building. Firefighters from just about every fire department in Colchester County also responded to the call, said Bisson.
A fire on Friday caused extensive damage to an apartment building in Bible Hill. (Shaina Luck/CBC)
No injuries in blaze that ripped through three-storey building off Vimy Road
Shaina Luck · CBC News · Posted: Apr 27, 2018 3:29 PM AT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago
Fire crews were called to an apartment building in Bible Hill on Friday. The building was extensively damaged. (Shaina Luck/CBC)
Several families are homeless after a fire ripped through a 12-unit apartment building in Bible Hill, N.S., on Friday.
Fire crews responded to the call at 23 Brooklyn Dr. at 12:30 p.m. All residents managed to escape and are accounted for. Fire officials said there were no injuries and Red Cross volunteers are assisting displaced residents.
Jenny Shin and her mother were in the process of moving from an apartment on the first floor to one on the third floor when she smelled something unusual.
"My mom said, 'Someone is maybe cooking something.'"
Jenny Shin and her mother are two of the people displaced by the fire. (CBC)
But when Shin went to the window, she could see flames and people already getting out of the building. She and her mother quickly did the same. She's now waiting for word on when she can get back in to assess the damage. Shin said they hadn't set up fire insurance prior to the move.
She's staying in guest housing at Dalhousie University's agricultural campus, where she is a graduate student. They're trying to find a place for her mother.
Bible Hill Fire Brigade Chief Joey Bisson said the entire front of the three-storey building was engulfed in flames reaching from the third storey to the roof as the first two trucks arrived.
"From that point it was just spreading rapidly."
Bible Hill Fire Brigade Chief Joey Bisson said the building's third storey and roof were fully engulfed when the first two trucks arrived on scene. (CBC)
Wendy Smith lives across the street from the apartment building. She said she was having a nap when she heard a loud sound like rain.
"I looked out my bathroom window and it was just shooting flames everywhere."
Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze by mid-afternoon, in part by using an aerial truck to "drown out the top of fire," said Bisson. The building's roof was extensively damaged and eventually collapsed as crews monitored the scene for hot spots or flareups.
Bisson said it's too soon to know how the fire started, although he said it appears to have started in the front of the building. Firefighters from just about every fire department in Colchester County also responded to the call, said Bisson.
A fire on Friday caused extensive damage to an apartment building in Bible Hill. (Shaina Luck/CBC)