KENTVILLE, N.S. — Plumes of thick, black smoke whirled into the sky as onlookers gathered near 1136 Oak Drive Tuesday.
“We got called for a residential detached garage fire with exposures to an RV and a car,” said Kentville Volunteer Fire Department deputy chief Scott Hamilton.
“On my arrival, we had full involvement of the garage, partial involvement of the RV, full involvement of the car – with extension to both homes on either side.”
Firefighters battling the mid-afternoon blaze first turned their attention to preventing additional damage to the neighbouring home, Hamilton said.
“We have heavy fire damage on the initial house, where the roof has collapsed in the back. The second home that was involved, there’s exterior damage only. Crews have checked the interior and there’s no extension to the interior of the second home.”
Flames leveled the garage at the property where the fire originated, leaving only a semblance of the framework – now charred – standing. The car and RV parked in the driveway were rendered beyond recognition and the residence was extensively damaged.
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire as of about 4 p.m.
“All occupants are reported to be out of the home,” said Hamilton.
Departments from New Minas, Canning, Port Williams, Greenwich, Wolfville and Waterville responded.
“With multiple structures involved, initially it took quite a bit of manpower to get things under control,” said Hamilton.
A large crowd of onlookers gathered near the scene while the fire suppression efforts were underway. RCMP officers and Nova Scotia Power employees were on hand assisting the fire departments.
Hamilton said it’s important to stay back when emergency response crews are dispatched to the scene of a fire.
“We have to have lots of room to get our apparatus in. In these tight, small residential streets it doesn’t take it long to get clogged up, so it makes it difficult getting units into the scene.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
