KENNETCOOK, N.S. – A mother, daughter and three dogs are homeless following a house fire in Kennetcook.
The home, on the 6600 block of Highway 354, was heavily damaged by flames, although remains standing for now.
Steve White, Chief of the Kennetcook Fire Department said they got the call for the fire around 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 3. He said the building, which is a “hundred-year-old farmhouse” is likely a total loss.
“A lady phoned and told us that her roof was on fire,” White said. “We think it might have been a chimney fire up around the roof.”
White said approximately 10 fire departments from around the region assisted with the call, including Kennetcook, Noel, Maitland, Walton, Rawdon, Nine Mile River, Enfield, Elmsdale and Lantz.
White said the occupants of the home were renting the building.
White said nobody was harmed in the fire but did say that one firefighter injured their back during the response.
They were evaluated by EHS at the scene.
He said one of the biggest challenges of fighting the fire was the bitter cold, with a couple of trucks “freezing up” at the scene.
“It got really icy the more water we were using, but the truck we had up by the house was good, we were feeding water to it steadily,” he said.
White noted that the farmhouse once belonged to his great-grandfather and other relatives over the years.
The highway was blocked for a brief time while emergency responders were on the scene.
Community response swift
Community members have already begun organizing on Facebook, purchasing and donating clothes for the family that was impacted.
There’s already a benefit planned on Feb. 2 at the Walton Shore Volunteer Fire Department.
Kim Crossley, the main organizer of the benefit, said Laurie Singer, the mother involved in the fire, is her good friend.
“It’s just heartbreaking to see your best friend go through something like that,” Crossley said. “It’s so sad.”
The two will be staying with her for the time being.
“I’ve already had 10 bags of stuff dropped off,” Crossley said. “They’ve got horses too and all of their saddles and everything all got burned in the fire. That’s going to be hard to replace.”
Crossley said they’re also in the process of trying to find crates and places for the three dogs to stay, with two of them potentially staying with Singer’s sons.
The Canadian Red Cross tweeted volunteers from their Truro location have assisted with emergency purchases of clothing and food.
