KINGSTON, N.S. — The Canadian Red Cross is coming to the aid of two families displaced by a fire in Kingston.
The charred remains of a two-storey home with a basement apartment still stands on George Street.
Multiple departments were dispatched to the scene around 12:10 a.m. Oct. 12.
“Canadian Red Cross volunteers have arranged emergency lodging, food, clothing purchases, comfort toys for children and other support for a couple and a teenaged son, plus a woman and three boys all under age eight,” said Dan Bedell, communications director for the Atlantic division of the Canadian Red Cross, in a prepared statement Oct. 13.
“Residents say the fire started on the exterior of the older wood-frame house.”
No one was injured, Bedell said.
Kingston fire chief Watson Armstrong confirmed that the residents were out of the home before firefighters arrived on scene.
“I think the neighbours actually woke them up,” he said, adding that the RCMP were on the scene providing assistance when the fire trucks started rolling in.
“They got out with basically the clothes on their back.”
Firefighters arrived to find a fully involved structure fire. Departments in Kingston, Middleton, Aylesford and Nictaux teamed up to rally about 35 firefighters together to tackle the blaze.
“The fire went up the front of the house and then up into the eaves, up into the attic and, ultimately, burnt the roof off,” Armstrong said.
He said the insured structure suffered a significant amount of fire, smoke and water damage.
The investigation is ongoing but Armstrong said, “it’s not suspicious.”
Fresh off the heels of Fire Prevention Week, which spanned from Oct. 6 to Oct. 12, Armstrong put out an ask to all residents. The fire chief wants everyone to ensure the smoke detectors in their homes have working batteries, and are fully functional.
“If they weren’t working and it was three or four in the morning, sometimes the outcome is a little worse,” he cautioned.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include information and comments provided by Kingston fire chief Watson Armstrong.
